LIBRA^RY 


Theological   Seminary, 

PRINCETON,  N.J. 

V 


BV  4010  .S933 

Sweetser,  Seth,  1807-1878. 

The  ministry  we  need 


1 

J 


3.L 


THE  MINISTRY  WE  NEED. 


S.   SWEETSER. 


The  harvest  truly  is  great,  but  the  laborers  are  few." 


PUBLISHED   BY  THE 

AMERICAN    TRACT    SOCIETY, 

219  Washington  Street,  Boston. 

KURD  AND  HOUGHTON,  13  Astok  Place,  N.  Y. 

The  Riversido  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1873,  by 

The  American  Tract  Society, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


RIVERSIDE,  Cambridge: 

STEREOTYPED     AND     PRINTED     BY 
H.    O.    HOUGHTON'   AND   COMPANY 


CONTENTS. 

— • — 

CHAPTEK  PAGE 

I.   The  Work 5 

II.  Confidence  in  the  Truth     .        .        .        .  n 

III.   The  Love  of  Christ 18 

IV.   Good-will  to  Men 26 

V.  Christ-like  Compassion 30 

VI.   Enduring  Hardness        .        .        .        .        .  47 

VII.   Faith  IN  Christ  and  THE  Promises  .        .        .  55 

VIII.   The  Peculiarity  of  the  Times     ...  68 

IX.  The  Intellectual  Activity  of  the  Age        .  77 

X.   Obligations       . 85 

XI.   The  Broad  View 93 

XII.   The  Privilege 99 

XIII.  The  Higher  Choice 106 

XIV.  Conclusion 113 


THE  minist: 


CHAPTER 


THE  WORK. 


WE    NEED.  ! 


■^^^>t>r 


jHE  drift  of  the  world  is  all  away  from  God. 
This  is  no  novelty.     The  present  age  does 

SaMSli)  not  differ  from  other  ages  in  this  particular. 
At  one  time  the  worldly  forces  may  be  more  intense, 
and  the  spirit  more  ardent.  The  causes  which  stimu- 
late activity  and  enterprise  have  a  tendency  to  give 
greater  energy  to  ungodliness.  Success  feeds  pride 
and  self-reliance  ;  and  the  opportunity  for  luxury  and 
indulgence  enervates  the  moral  character  and  sensu- 
alizes society. 

There  are  reasons  for  believing  that  some,  if  not 
all  these  unfavorable  processes,  are  carried  forward 
at  the  present  time  with  more  than  usual  vigor.  If 
so,  it  is  right  to  say,  that  the  worldly  currents  set 
away  from  God  with  an  increased  momentum.  The 
vital  question,  always  is,  how  shall  men  be  brought 
back  to  God  to  do  his  will  and  enjoy  his  favor? 

If  the  normal  condition  of  the  individual  and  of 


6  TJie  Ministry  we  need. 

society  is  one  in  which  God  is  consciously  the  central 
object  of  affection,  and  his  will  the  cordial  rule  of 
conduct,  wherever  this  moral  state  does  not  exist,  it 
is  of  secondary  consequence  what  the  outward  aspect 
of  life  is. 

Civilization  is  greatly  preferable  to  barbarism  ;  for 
there  are  benefits  from  knowledge,  from  the  arts, 
from  judicious  laws,  from  agreeable  conventional 
usages,  which  ameliorate  the  rougher,  and  enhance 
the  more  satisfying  circumstances  of  existence.  The 
way  is  also  prepared  for  a  more  hopeful  application 
of  higher  principles. 

On  the  other  hand,  barbarism  presents  more  dis- 
gusting vices,  more  violent  exercises  of  the  malign 
passions,  with  fewer  redeeming  traits,  and  withal  a 
discouraging  obtuseness  of  the  sensibilities,  and  a 
degradation  of  the  mental  faculties.  And  yet,  when 
we  weigh  the  facts  touching  the  relations  of  society 
to  God,  we  find  a  humiliating  agreement.  In  one 
case  men  know  God,  but  in  their  works  deny  Him. 
In  the  other  they  know  not  God  and  establish  idols 
in  his  place.  The  idolatry  of  heathenism  is  formal 
and  visible.  The  idolatry  of  Christendom  inscribes 
no  altar  with  the  name  of  Mammon,  institutes  no 
order  of  worship,  while  nevertheless  it  secures  that 
profounder  devotion  in  which  with  heart  and  soul, 
men  serve  the  god  of  this  world. 

In  its  radical  significance,  then,  the  problem  is  one 
for  the  whole  race  of  men  estranged  from  God, 
whether  they  are  polite  or  rude,  whether  cultivated 
or  untutored. 


The   Work.  7 

If  these  statements  are  correct,  we  cannot  resort, 
with  any  measure  of  hope,  to  those  means  by  which 
the  intellect  is  furnished  or  the  taste  refined.  Though 
ignorance  and  wickedness  are  closely  allied,  taking 
away  the  ignorance  does  not  remove  the  wickedness. 
Though  the  highest  piety  depends  upon  the  aid  of 
knowledge,  yet  no  amount  of  intellectual  training 
and  burnishing  will  produce  piety.  History  testifies 
convincingly,  that  vice  ripens  under  the  mellower  sky 
of  aesthetic  culture,  wealth,  and  intellectual  advance- 
ment ;  that  the  sterner  virtues  of  savage  morality 
decay  in  the  softer  climate  ;  and  that  the  absolute 
decline  is  sure  to  hasten  to  a  fatal  termination. 

The  evil  cannot  be  mastered  until  it  is  appre- 
hended. If  it  lies  in  a  moral  and  spiritual  defect ;  if 
its  source  and  its  energy  consist  in  the  alienation  of 
the  heart  from  God,  and  the  indisposition  of  the  will 
to  follow  God's  counsels,  it  is  clear  that  no  amount  of 
what  is  called  education,  no  advancement  in  science, 
no  development  and  use  of  the  material  resources  of 
the  world,  no  refinement  of  taste,  and  no  courtesies 
in  social  intercourse,  can  be  relied  on  to  produce  the 
essential  reformation.  These  things  have  an  inesti- 
mable value.  They  constitute  an  important  part  of 
the  world's  elevation.  Mankind  can  never  reach  the 
high  plane  on  which  they  are  destined  to  stand  with- 
out them.  But  their  value  depends  upon  the  rela- 
tion they  bear  to  the  moral  and  spiritual  forces  which 
are  the  efficient  reforming  powers.  They  are  to  be 
subordinate;  to  be  used  as  helpers;  to  come  in  as 


8  The  Ministry  we  need. 

the  servants  of  religion.  Knowledge  is  to  be  urged 
forward ;  science,  art,  literature,  commerce,  manufac- 
tures, all  activities  and  enterprises  of  which  man  is 
capable,  and  to  which  the  realm  over  which  he  has 
dominion  invites,  are  to  receive  worthy  attention  — 
but  they  are  to  be  pursued  under  the  control  of  a  mind 
inspired  with  love  to  God,  and  seeking  his  glory  and 
human  welfare,  as  its  end.  Losing  sight  of  this  fact 
is  the  fatal  mistake  of  many  sincere  and  ardent 
friends  of  human  progress.  These  things  they  ought 
to  do,  but  not  to  leave  the  other  undone.  They  for- 
get the  weighter  matters  of  the  law. 

God  has  provided  adequate  means  by  which  the 
race  may  be  arrested  in  its  departure,  and  restored  to 
the  enjoyment  of  his  favor.  The  end  of  divine  reve- 
lation is  the  enlightenment,  redemption,  and  renova- 
tion of  mankind.  The  world  has  been  slow  to  see 
this,  for  the  world  by  wisdom  has  not  known,  nor 
ever  can  know* God.  From  the  beginning,  ingenuity, 
stimulated  as  well  by  pride  as  by  sufferings,  has  been 
seeking  out  some  good  way.  The  countless  failures, 
whether  of  visionary  conceits  or  of  thoughtful  phi- 
losophy, have  scarcely  abated  the  ardor  or  the  ex- 
pectation of  the  search.  It  is  as  true  to-day,  as  it 
was  thousands  of  years  ago,  that  the  world  by  wisdom 
knows  not  God.  Science,  with  its  splendid  achieve- 
ments, adds  not  an  iota  to  the  promise.  Civilization 
does  not  solve  the  problem  ;  for  so  far  as  civilization 
is  moral  purification,  it  is  the  result  of  Christianity, 
and  not  an  element  of  progress.     To  whatever' quar- 


The   Work,  g 

ter  the  eye  has  been  turned  for  help,  disappointment 
has  been  the  invariable  sequel  of  unjustified  hopes. 

So  far  as  the  past  can  furnish  wisdom,  it  declares 
to  us,  that  the  only  recovery  of  man  is  found  in  re- 
ceiving and  obeying  the  truth,  revealed  by  God  for 
our  salvation.  Any  independent  and  candid  exami- 
nation of  the  possible  forces,  by  which  righteousness 
and  peace  can  be  established,  will,  with  a  nearly 
absolute  certainty,  lead  to  the  same  conclusion.  The 
sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word.of  God,  is  to 
work  deliverance  from  this  moral  and  spiritual  bond- 
age. The  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  is  the  renovat- 
ing agency,  by  which  men  are  to  be  trained,  and 
qualified  to  live  worthily,  and  to  reach  the  ample 
blessings  of  communion  with  God.  And  this  is 
asserted,  in  the  face  of  all  that  is  claimed  for  and  may 
justly  be  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  increasing  and 
diffused  knowledge.  It  is  asserted,  notwithstanding 
the  wide  range  and  number  of  the  sciences,  so  called, 
whether  physical,  metaphysical,  moral,  or  social ;  and 
notwithstanding  the  merit  due  to  them,  as  helpful  aids 
in  the  formation  of  a  higher  social  state. 

From  all  these,  and  every  other  method,  by  reason 
of  their  inherent  inefficiency,  we  turn  to  the  truth,  as 
unfolded  to  us  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  made  powerful 
on  the  conscience  and  the  heart  of  man  by  the  same 
Spirit,  as  the  only  adequate  force,  and  the  only  trust- 
worthy discipline,  by  which  the  individual  soul  can  be 
brought  back  into  peaceful  relations  with  God,  or  the 
world  become  subject  to  his  law. 


10  TJie  Ministry  we  need. 

The  ministry  instituted  by  Christ  is  the  foremost 
human  agency  in  applying  this  method.  The  work 
to  be  done  by  tiie  ministry,  and  the  weapons  to  be 
used,  are  not  indistinctly  marked  out  in  the  foregoing 
remarks.  The  aim  is  to  reconcile  revolted  men  to 
God  ;  to  bring  them  into  loving  obedience  to  his  law  ; 
to  secure  to  them  the  divine  blessing  in  its  fullness, 
and  so  in  this  life  to  exalt  a  fallen  race  to  the  felici- 
ties of  righteousness,  and  to  the  pleasures  which  are 
at  God's  right  hand,  in  the  life  to  come. 


^S^IS^'^'^W^^^^SB 

^m^m 

^^^^^^m 

v^mM. 

CHAPTER   11. 

CONFIDENCE    IN   THE   TRUTH. 


N  seeking  characteristic  and  essential  quali- 
ties, needed  by  those  who  are  to  engage  in 
^M-  this  work,  one  of  the  first  which  attracts  our 
attention  is  the  importance  of  profound  convictions 
in  regard  to  revealed  truth. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  the  highest  spiritual 
living  -we  are  capable  of  is  prompted  by  intelligent 
conceptions  of  God  and  his  requirements,  it  will  be 
obvious  that  to  teach  and  impress  the  truth  of  God, 
must  be  the  substance  of  a  minister's  efforts. 

A  formal  knowledge  may  be  sufficient  for  formal 
instruction.  But  the  terrible  energy  of  sinful  pro- 
pensity is  not  restrained  by  knowledge.  It  has  al- 
ways been  known,  perhaps  it  will  never  be  better 
known  than  it  has  been,  that  misery  is  the  offspring 
of  vice.  And  yet  the  world  has  rolled  on  in  its 
career  of  suffering,  unchecked  by  the  demonstration 
of  thousands  of  years.  Some  adequate  authority  is 
needed  to  give  urgency  to  the  fact,  that  sin  is  the 
forerunner  of  a  fearful  doom.  This  authority  is 
found  in  the  declarations  of  God,  as  sovereign  and 
judge.     These  declarations  contain  God's  purposes. 


12  The  Ministry  we  need. 

the  principles  of  his  government,  and  the  issue  of 
the  world's  life.  They  are  of  necessity  the  most 
solemn  and  weighty  truths  to  which  our  minds  can 
be  given. 

As  the  whole  question  is  one  of  divine  government, 
the  destiny  of  men  depends  upon  the  influence 
which  God's  word  has  upon  them.  A  minister  stands 
betvyeen  God  and  his  subjects.  He  bears  to  them 
the  divine  message.  He  is  appointed  to  utter  the 
threatenings,  and  to  reiterate  the  promises  of  mercy. 
The  Scriptures  make  it  clear  that  eternal  life  and 
eternal  death  are  the  inevitable  issues  of  preaching. 
Ministers  "  are  unto  God  a  sweet  savor  of  Cljrist,  in 
them  that  are  saved,  and  in  them  that  perish."  To 
the  one  the  savor  of  death  unto  death  ;  and  to  the 
other,  the  savor  of  life  unto  life. 

How  now  is  it  possible  to  enter  upon  such  duties, 
involving  such  possibilities,  and  to  discharge  them 
faithfully,  unless  the  minister  himself  is  deeply  pene- 
trated with  the  grand  and  awful  realities,  comprised 
in  the  truth.  A  frivolous  mind  cannot  sympathize 
with  the  momentous  alternatives.  An  easy  credence 
cannot  take  in  the  unmeasured  responsibilities.  A 
wavering  belief  cannot  boldly  assert  the  necessary 
admonition,  nor  present  the  infinite  fullness  of  grace 
in  the  divine  promise.  When  the  intensity  of  the 
grasp  of  sin  is  considered,  the  abandonment  of  the 
will  to  the  rule  of  passion,  and  the  insensibility  of  the 
depraved  heart  to  spiritual  joys,  it  will  be  evident, 
that  an  earnestness  and  tenderness^  a  patience  and 


Confidence  in  the  Truth.  13 

persistency  are  needed  in  pursuing  the  message  of 
God,  which  cannot  exist  without  deep  and  stirring 
convictions.  The  advantage  is  on  the  other  side  \  for 
sin  has  the  possession. 

In  every  human  view  the  prospect  is  a  dishearten- 
ing one.  The  combined  verdict  of  the  world  in  the 
centuries  of  its  history  is,  that  happiness  is  to  be 
found  out  of  God  \  and  to  find  it,  the  world  has 
aggregated  and  expended,  with  amazing  pertinacity, 
its  ingenuity  and  its  zeal.  To  confront  this  solid 
phalanx  of  opposition  requires  a  just  confidence  in 
the  resources  to  be  applied.  So  long  as  the  mind 
wavers  in  doubt  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  the 
gospel ;  so  long  as  it  entertains  the  thought  that  the 
danger  is  not  imminent ;  so  long  as  it  vacillates  be- 
tween the  uncompromising  claims  of  God's  word 
and  some  other  possible  method  of  escape,  just  so 
long  will  it  be  an  impossibility  to  press  upon  men, 
with  full  energy  and  effectiveness,  the  demands  of 
God. 

A  minister,  to  do  his  work  in  any  manner  corre- 
sponding to  its  importance,  should  be  absolutely 
possessed  and  penetrated  by  the  truth.  Eternal 
realities  should  fill  his  mind  with  their  august  solem- 
nities. His  reason,  his  understanding,  his  heart, 
should  all  be  enlisted  in  the  service.  The  vividness 
of  his  own  impressions  should  give  vitality  to  his 
words.  The  glow  of  his  heart  should  impart  zeal  to 
his  utterance.  His  faith  should  inspire  confidence  in 
his  declarations.    Believing  with  unfaltering  firmness, 


14  TJie  Ministry  ivc  need. 

in  the  word  of  God,  he  should  speak  with  unfaltering 
distinctness  whatever  comes  to  him  under  the  sanc- 
tion of,  Thus  saith  the  Lord. 

Such  a  faith  is  the  very  substance  of  sincerity. 
Sincerity  is  the  soul  of  true  earnestness.  Earnest- 
ness is  the  moral  power  to  which  the  heart  yields  its 
readiest  obedience.  It  has  proved  the  triumphant 
energy  in  most  of  the  great  revolutions  of  the  world. 
It  is  the  recorded  distinction  of  the  most  successful 
preachers  from  John  the  Baptist  to  our  day. 

Earnestness  in  error  is  more  convincing  than  tame- 
ness  in  the  truth.  Even  a  simulated  earnestness, 
based  upon  a  profound  belief,  is  more  efficacious 
than  a  divided  heart.  Mr.  Froude  has  justly  re- 
marked, that  "  a  mind  sufficiently  in  earnest  about 
religion,  to  prefer  truth  to  falsehood,  listens  only  to 
teachers  who  speak  with  emphasis  and  certainty,  who 
do  not  think  and  say,  but  feel  with  warmth  and  pas- 
sion. Before  a  man  can  persuade  others  to  accept 
him  as  a  guide,  he  must  know  his  own  mind,  and  be 
ready  with  a  Yes  or  No,  on  the  questions  with  which 
his  hearers  are  perplexed." 

But,  for  this  unadulterated  sincerity,  for  this  glow- 
ing and  mighty  earnestness,  this  prompt  and  pro- 
nounced utterance,  it  is  essential  that  the  mind  of  the 
preacher  should  be  fully  persuaded,  that  his  heart 
should  suffer  no  wavering  in  its  convictions  of  the 
truth.  To  him  the  word  of  God  should  be,  yea  and 
amen.  He  should  feel,  that  heaven  and  earth  may 
pass  away,  but  God's  word  cannot  pass  away.     He 


Confidence  in  the  Truth.  15 

should  feel,  that  the  doctrines  of  the  word  are  as 
deep  laid  and  as  eternal  as  the  throne  itself.  He 
should  realize,  with  a  conviction  as  settled  as  that 
there  is  but  one  sun  in  the  heavens,  that  there  is  but 
one  name  under  heaven  given  among  men,  whereby 
they  must  be  saved.  As  an  ambassador  for  Christ, 
he  must  press  men  to  be  reconciled  through  Him  with 
an  assurance  as  complete  as  his  confidence  that  the 
world  exists.  So  long  as  the  word  of  God  is  the 
substance  of  the  argument,  the  very  arsenal  of  the 
artillery  of  a  minister,  it  must  be  as  essential  to  his 
might  and  his  efficiency  that  he  cherish  profound 
convictions  of  the  truth ;  that  his  own  soul  be  fully 
under  its  dominion,  and  that  he  speak  as  one  who 
knows,  and  by  his  faith  has  seen. 

This  has  been  a  characteristic  of  God's  minis- 
ters always.  The  prophets  were  wellnigh  terrible  in 
their  absorbing  conviction  of  the  majesty  and  truth 
of  their  messages.  The  Apostles  had  a  boldness  in 
uttering  all  the  words  of  the  new  life,  which  no  au- 
thority of  rulers,  or  anger  of  the  populace  could  with- 
stand. They  thoroughly  believed  what  they  pro- 
claimed ;  and  confessors  and  reformers  have  been 
men  of  a  like  spirit.  We  can  hardly  conceive  of  a 
successful  enunciation  of  disagreeable  and  condemn- 
ing truth  without  it.  It  has  been  the  decisive  ele- 
ment in  the  mental  and  spiritual  tone  of  all  great 
moral  renovations,  and  has  left  its  stamp  upon  the 
character  and  work  of  the  great  company  of  faithful 
pastors  and  teachers  in  the  Church  of  Christ. 


1 6  The  Ministry  we  Jieed. 

We  cannot  presume  that  there  ever  was  a  time 
which  could  dispense  with  this  quality  j  or  that  such 
a  time  will  ever  come  ;  most  assuredly  such  is  not 
the  case  now.  For  the  truth  of  God  is  assailed  still, 
with  unabated  pertinacity.  If  old  issues  are  aban- 
doned, new  ones  are  started.  If  some  questions  con- 
cerning the  gospel  histories  are  forever  settled,  and 
some  teachings  of  the  New  Testament  are  established 
beyond  controversy,  it  does  not  follow,  that  skepticism 
is  routed  or  that  unbelief  has  ceased. 

We  are  to  remember  that  one  tendency  of  our 
times  is  to  unsettle  established  beliefs  \  to  disparage 
the  importance  of  doctrine  ;  to  diminish  the  differ- 
ence between  truth  and  error ;  to  exalt  sentiment, 
and  to  proclaim  an  era  of  good  feeling,  with  but 
sparing  regard  to  principles  fundamental  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  God,  as  well  as  in  the  scheme  of  redemp- 
tion. We  are  to  remember  that  there  is  a  pressure 
to  fix  the  conclusion,  that  nothing  is  to  be  accepted 
which  cannot  be  proved,  and  so  become  a  matter  of 
science.  There  may  be  no  more  danger  in  this  than 
in  the  spirit  of  exploded  devices  and  forms  of  oppo- 
sition. The  point  to  be  noted  is,  that  positive  belief 
in  revelation  is  rejected  on  the  grounds  of  science  ; 
and  that  faith  itself  is  divided  as  a  source  of  knowl- 
edge. The  whole  of  what  is  called  modern  thought, 
tends  to  make  more  imperative  in  the  preachers  of 
righteousness  the  necessity  of  carrying  with  them 
always  into  the  service  of  God  the  unfaltering  con- 
viction, that  his  word  is  the  truth,  and  that  God  will 
not  alter  the  thing  that  is  gone  out  of  his  lips. 


Confidence  in  the  Truth,  17 

It  is  the  weakest  illusion  to  assume  that  a  high 
moral  and  spiritual  life  can  rest  upon  feelings  and 
emotions  without  the  force  and  sustaining  efficacy  of 
fundamental  principles.  These  principles  are  the 
ground  doctrines  of  the  word  of  God  ;  and  therefore, 
a  needful  equipment  for  a  successful  and  powerful 
minisfiy  is  a  profound  belief  of  these  truths. 


CHAPTER   III. 


THE    LOVE    OF   CHRIST. 


T  should  be  kept  in  the  foreground  that  the 
gospel  is  a  system  by  itself,  amongst  what 
are  called  religions.  Christianity  is  not  the 
religion  of  nature,  not  Judaism,  not  even  pure  theism. 
It  is  not  a  code  of  moral  regulations  ;  a  digest  of 
wholesome  prohibitions  and  restraints  ;  a  compen- 
dium of  rewards  and  punishments.  Although  its 
morality  is  the  most  elevated  ;  its  rules  of  living  the 
purest  and  most  spiritual ;  its  rewards  and  punish- 
ments the  most  definite  and  comprehensive  ;  its  dis- 
tinctive quality,  over  and  above  all  these,  is  that  it  is 
a  redemption.  It  includes  every  worthy  suggestion 
of  natural  religion,  respecting  our  duty  to  God  and 
to  man,  the  practice  of  righteousness,  the  cultivation 
of  the  virtues,  and  the  condemnation  of  error  and 
transgression  ;  while  it  does  what  no  other  system  can 
do,  in  making  provision  for  the  recovery,  pardon,  and 
salvation  of  men  ruined  in  their  guilt.  Preeminently 
the  gospel  is  not  law,  but  love ;  while  it  does  not  in 
the  slightest  degree  derogate  from  sovereignty,  it  ex- 
alts grace  ;  while  it  diminishes  nothing  in  the  con- 
demnation of  sin,  it  delights  in  the  forgiveness  of  the 


The  Love  of  Christ,  19 

sinner ;  while  it  retains  the  accuracy  of  retribution, 
it  glories  in  the  bestovvment  of  a  free  gift ;  while  it 
justifies  righteousness  wherever  it  can  be  found,  it 
reinstates  in  the  divine  favor  and  the  final  inheritance 
with  great  joy,  every  repentant  prodigal  and  every 
returning  wanderer. 

To  use  such  a  gospel  as  an  instrument,  must  differ 
widely  from  giving  instruction  in  the  precepts  of  the 
law.  It  obviously  requires  the  minister  to  be  in 
sympathy  with  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  or  more  ex- 
actly to  be  in  sympathy  with  Jesus  Himself,  the  pro- 
claimer  of  glad  tidings.  The  very  name  Christianity 
is  not  without  its  significance.  It  points  directly  to 
Christ,  as  the  person  who,  in  his  mission  and  teach- 
ings, stands  as  the  originator  of  Christianity.  If,  as 
has  been  intimated,  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  is  peculiar, 
the  distinctive  spirit  is  to  be  found  in  Christ.  What 
Christ  is  —  that  is  the  index  of  the  tone  and  temper 
of  his  system.  If  Christianity  is  specifically  love,  it 
is  because  Christ  in  his  work  is  specifically  love.  It 
has  been  truly  said,  "  Christ  is  Christianity.  Detach 
Christianity  from  Christ  and  it  vanishes  before  your 
eyes  into  intellectual  vapor.  Christianity  is  non-ex- 
istent apart  from  Christ :  it  centres  in  Christ  ;  it 
radiates  now  as  at  the  first  from  Christ.  It  is  not  a 
mere  doctrine  bequeathed  by  Him  to  a  world  with 
which  He  has  ceased  to  have  dealings  ;  it  perishes 
outright  when  men  attempt  to  abstract  it  from  the 
living  person  of  its  Founder." 

It  can  then  hardly  be  possible  to  administer  heartily 


20  The  Mi?iisiry  we  need. 

the  word  of  Christ,  without  feeling  and  appreciating 
his  love.  There  is  no  other  avenue  to  Christ  but  this. 
He  is  never  comprehended  till  his  love  is  understood  ; 
and  that  attainment  is  never  made,  until  his  love  has 
melted,  inflamed,  and  purified  the  heart.  So  that  a 
prime  quality  in  the  character  of  a  minister,  must 
ever  be  his  lively  susceptibility  to  this  love  ;  his  spon- 
taneous response  to  it,  and  the  fervor  and  zeal  with 
which  he  is  inspired  by  it. 

For  it  is  a  defective  and  unsatisfactory  view  of  a 
minister's  work  to  present  it  only  as  didactic,  and 
ethical ;  to  confine  its  scope  to  the  inculcation  of 
sound  principles,  or  the  culture  of  the  graces  which 
adorn  character.  No  more  is  it  to  be  looked  upon 
merely  as  the  rebuke  of  sin,  and  the  utterance  of  de- 
nunciations against  iniquity.  Whatever  tends  to  with- 
draw men  from  the  dominion  of  transgression,  to 
promote  righteousness,  and  to  perfect  the  discipline 
of  a  godly  life  is  manifestly  within  its  province. 

But  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  key-note  of  the 
gospel  is  a  proclamation  of  pardon  to  men,  too  deeply 
insensible  both  to  guilt  and  danger,  that  the  very 
mission  of  Christ  was  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost ; 
that  his  mighty  love  concentrated  itself  on  this,  that 
men  under  condemnation  might  not  perish  ;  the  pith 
and  substance  of  the  whole  work  takes  another 
aspect.  A  minister  becomes  a  messenger  of  mercy. 
He  is  a  herald  of  salvation.  He  is  an  ambassador 
for  Christ.  He  beseeches  men  in  Christ's  stead. 
He  pleads  with  men  to  be  reconciled  to  God. 


The  Love  of  Christ.  21 

As  no  one  can  doubt  that  the  moving  principle  in 
Christ's  humiliation  and  sufferings  was  love,  so  no 
one  can  doubt  that  a  sense  of  this  love  must  be  a 
conspicuous  quality  in  Christ's  ministers.  It  should 
be  a  constraining  power.  Therefore  the  Apostle  says, 
The  love  of  Christ  constrains  us,  because  we  thus 
judge,  if  one  died  for  all,  then  were  all  dead ;  and 
that  He  died  for  all,  that  they  which  live,  should  not 
henceforth  live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  Him  that 
died  for  them  and  rose  again.  This  is  the  law  of  all 
discipleship. 

Its  application  and  its  binding  force  is  evinced  in 
the  earnest  words  which  follow,  describing  the  minis- 
try of  reconciliation.  Persuasion,  entreaty,  beseech- 
ing, as  though  God  Himself  did  through  his  servants 
beseech  men  ;  these  are  the  exercises  by  which  recon- 
ciliation to  God  by  Jesus  Christ  is  sought. 

To  enter  thus  into  the  heart  of  Christ's  mission 
without  sympathy  with  Him,  and  without  feeling  the 
kindlings  of  his  love  and  responding  to  it,  must  ever 
be  a  vain  attempt.  All  the  refining,  exalting,  and 
stimulating  influence  of  divine  love  is  required  to 
bring  about  entire  consecration  to  Christ.  In  such 
consecration  alone  can  the  active  powers  be  de- 
voted to  his  service.  Between  a  minister  and  Christ, 
there  should  exist  a  close  and  peculiar  union.  How 
intimate  and  tender  it  is,  may  be  inferred  from  the 
declaration,  "  Henceforth  I  call  you  not  servants,  for 
the  servant  knoweth  not  what  his  Lord  doeth  ;  but  I 
have  called  you  friends  ;  for  all  things  that  I  have 


22  TJie  Ministry  zve  need. 

heard  of  my  Father  I  have  made  known  unto  you." 
Without  appropriating  so  much  of  this  passage  as  be- 
longs exclusively  to  the  immediate  disciples,  we  may 
safely  gather  the  fact,  that  those  in  the  work  of  the 
Redeemer  are  admitted  to  special  privileges  of  friend- 
ship and  intimacy.  It  is  no  mere  formality  to  be 
Christ's  minister.  It  is  not  an  office,  to  be  fulfilled 
by  perfunctory  performances.  It  is  not  following  a 
ritual  in  worshipful  observances^  or  discharging  with 
a  cold  conscientiousness  a  round  of  religious  teach- 
ings and  duties.  All  such  are  sacrifices  laid  upon 
the  altar  with  no  flame  to  send  the  acceptable  incense 
heavenward. 

There  can  be  no  true  devotion  to  God  or  man 
without  love.  And  if  the  law  is  emphatically  bind- 
ing upon  ministers,  to  be  so  constrained  by  the  love 
of  Christ  as  to  live  to  Him  and  not  to  themselves,  it 
becomes  a  question  of  momentous  weight,  what  is  the 
import  and  extent  of  the  implied  consecration  t  Can 
it  be  anything  short  of  taking  the  cause  of  Christ  to 
be  one's  own  :  the  interests  of  Christ,  his  work,  his 
end,  to  be  the  interest,  the  work,  and  the  end  of  his 
servants  ?  Is  there  not  of  necessity  implied  an 
identification  of  the  minister  with  Christ,  such  that 
there  shall  be  but  one  aim  and  purpose  to  them  both  ; 
so  that  no  one  thus  pledged  to  Christ  can  in  any 
other  sense  pursue  his  own  ends  than  as  Christ's 
ends  have  become  his  1  This  will  bring  the  whole 
energy  of  the  man  into  the  work  of  God. 
'   For  everywhere  it  is  observable  that,  for  the  high- 


The  Love  of  Christ.  23 

est  human  efficiency,  there  must  be  an  inward,  vital, 
spontaneous  movement  of  the  soul  towards  a  chosen 
object  j  some  idea,  some  passion,  the  longing  for 
some  achievement,  must  possess  it,  inspire  it,  magnet- 
ize it,  marshal  its  powers,  sustain  it  under  the  toil 
of  striving,  during  the  delay  of  obstructions,  against 
the  depression  of  partial  defeats,  and  hold  it  up  to 
endure  and  persevere,  till  the  triumph  is  reached. 
Then  the  searcher  for  truth,  the  explorer,  the  in- 
ventor of  complicated  mechanical  contrivances,  the 
patriot  burning  with  zeal  for  his  country's  salvation, 
the  prophet  glowing  with  a  divine  afflatus,  as  he  sees 
afar  the  coming  glory  ;  the  reformer  as  he  confronts 
the  stake,  and  defies  the  despotic  rage  which  bars  his 
progress ;  these  and  all  others  who  won  great  victo- 
ries in  great  struggles,  are  moved  by  concentrated 
desires  and  purposes,  and  are  held  under  the  league 
and  conspiracy  of  the  affections  and  the  will,  and  so 
are  enabled  to  combine  all  their  energies  upon  the 
determination  of  their  noble  endeavor.  So  the 
Apostle  felt,  when  he  declared,  "  Woe  is  unto  me,  if 
I  preach  not  the  gospel."  A  necessity  was  laid  upon 
him.  So  felt  the  prophet.  "  His  word  was  in  mine 
heart  a  burning  fire  shut  up  in  my  bones."  He  could 
not  withstand  the  mighty  impulse. 

Now  Christ's  work  being  preeminently  and  dis- 
tinctively a  work  of  love,  to  enter  into  ii  with  all  the 
heart,  demands  that  Christ's  love  shall  penetrate  and 
pervade  the  soul,  subjecting  to  Christ  the  powers  and 
passions  of  the  mind,  kindling  so  responsive  a  grati- 


24  The  Ministry  we  need. 

tude  that  the  utmost  service  shall  be  a  joyful  offering 
upon  his  altar.  To  have  felt  the  redeeming  energy 
of  this  love  ;  to  have  been  inspired  by  it  with  a  good 
hope  of  mercy  ;  to  have  received  from  it  strength  for 
duty  and  temptation,  and  to  have  read  in  it  the 
assurance  of  the  final  glory,  serve,  most  effectually, 
to  purge  out  the  leaven  of  selfishness,  and  to  allay 
the  fires  of  an  earthly  ambition. 

There  is  no  loyalty  like  this,  when  the  soul  is  bound 
to  the  Master  by  his  all-constraining  love.  It  makes 
it  possible  to  do  the  work  of  Christ,  as  one's  own 
work,  and  so  to  perform  it,  with  all  the  freedom,  the 
heartiness,  the  joyousness,  and  the  singleness  of  de- 
sire and  purpose  with  which  men  pursue  the  objects 
of  their  personal  interest. 

This  is  a  condition  of  the  service  of  the  highest 
importance.  It  strips  the  ministry  of  the  repulsive- 
ness  of  toil,  of  the  irksomeness  of  duty  and  makes  it 
a  delight.  It  lifts  it  above  mercenary  considerations 
and  private  and  personal  ends,  and  invests  it  with  the 
charm  and  power  of  spontaneousness.  It  unites  the 
servant  with  the  Master  in  the  tender  associations  and 
sweet  intercourse  of  friendship,  and  makes  the  Lord 
and  his  disciples,  fellow  workers,  and  sharers  to- 
gether in  the  tribulation  and  triumphs  of  his  king- 
dom. 

This  respcmsive  affection,  this  grateful  submission 
of  everything  to  Christ,  this  hearty  adoption  of  his 
cause,  this  self-consecration  to  all  its  interests,  this  * 
surrender  of  self  to  the   exposures,  struggles,  and 


The  Love  of  Christ. 


25 


final  exaltation  of  the  gospel,  should  be  held  not 
only  to  be  a  reasonable,  but  an  essential  element 
in  ministerial  character.  It  will  give  a  distinctive 
tone  to  the  ministry,  sanctify  and  elevate  the  office, 
and  vindicate  for  it  the  appellation  of  the  ministry 
of  Christ. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

GOOD-WILL    TO    MEN. 

(gwi*iyjO  say  that  the  ministers  of  Christ  should  be 
IfS^S'  actuated  by  a  principle  of  good-will  to  men, 
Im^aai  is  hardly  saying  more  than  that  the  servant 
should  adopt  the  principles  of  the  master.  If  it  is 
included  in  this  statement,  that  the  servant  should 
be  as  his  master,  it  is  sufficiently  comprehensive. 
There  is  little  danger  of  exaggerating  the  quality  of 
divine  love,  as  it  seeks  the  welfare  of  the  human 
family.  God  so  loved  the  world  as  to  send  his  Son. 
The  Son  so  loved  the  world  as  to  give  Himself  freely 
to  humiliation  and  suffering  for  its  redemption.  The 
glory  of  the  cross  infinitely  transcends  its  ignominy  ; 
for  it  shines  and  blazes  with  the  effulgence  of  God's 
love.  The  great  transaction  elevated  above  all  other 
events  in  the  world's  history,  was  conceived  in  the 
heart  of  God  before  the  world  was  ;  and  through  it 
the  Infinite  Father  pours  out  his  heart  for  his  ruined 
children.  Glory  to  God,  and  good-will  to  men,  is  the 
wonderful  harmony  of  that  scene,  which  will  draw  to 
it  the  eyes  of  the  universe,  and  inspire  the  anthems 
of  eternity. 

The  Apostle   determined   to   preach,   as   his  one 


Good-zvill  to  Mejt.  2J 

theme,  Christ  Jesus,  and  Him  crucified.  But  to 
preach  Christ  crucified,  is  to  proclaim  the  way  of 
life,  by  God's  love  to  lost  sinners.  The  cross  is  the 
energy  of  love,  because  it  makes  practicable  the 
longings  of  love.  What  then  is  a  herald  of  the  cross, 
but  a  messenger  of  good-will  to  men  ?  And  who 
can  so  fitly  bear  glad  tidings,  as  those  whose  hearts 
thrill  responsive  to  the  joyous  theme  ? 

Among  the  motives  urging  to  the  ministry,  this 
should  be  distinct  —  a  good- will  towards  men  ;  a 
yearning  of  heart,  to  advance  welfare  and  promote 
happiness.  Fairly  to  put  this  desire  within  the 
sphere  of  Christian  motives,  it  should  be  a  zeal, 
kindled  by  the  love  of  Christ,  to  secure  to  men  the 
benefits  of  the  mission  of  Christ. 

To  distinguish  a  Christ-like  benevolence  from  other 
generous  dispositions,  is  not  an  unworthy  fastidious- 
ness. The  object  of  the  ministry  is  not  merely  to  do 
good,  but  to  accomplish  the  peculiar  and  transcend- 
ent good  aimed  at  in  the  gospel  of  grace.  There 
are  reformations,  and  ameliorations  of  evil  of  value 
in  their  sphere,  which  fall  far  short  of  the  blessifigs 
of  evangelical  righteousness.  There  are  benefits 
worthily  labored  for,  which  are  not  the  preparation 
for  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  There  is  an  enthusiasm 
for  humanity,  which  may  be  kindled  in  a  human  heart 
not  touched  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  fruits  of  which, 
though  precious  and  lovely  to  the  eye,  will  not  adorn 
the  celestial  paradise. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  depreciate  the  lower  forms 


28  The  Ministry  we  need. 

of  benevolence,  in  order  to  give  just  exaltation  to  the 
higher.  Ample  credit  should  be  allowed  to  every 
kind  and  generous  feeling  which  seeks  to  lift  bur- 
dens ;  alleviate  sorrows  ;  to  purify  society,  and  dif- 
fuse happiness.  Whoever  in  honesty  of  good-will 
diminishes  the  sighs  and  groans  of  the  world,  and 
adds  one  ray  to  the  beam  of  light  which  irradiates  its 
darkness,  is  to  be  welcomed  as  a  benefactor.  But 
the  minister  of  Christ  stands  upon  a  higher  plane 
than  the  highest  of  human  benefactors.  He  is  the 
messenger  of  his  mercy,  who  shed  his  blood  for  the 
remission  of  sins  ;  who  died,  the  just  for  the  unjust, 
that  He  might  bring  them  unto  God.  The  scope  of 
this  benevolence  ranges  far  beyond  the  annoyances 
and  ills  of  a  brief  mortality.  It  embraces  a  blessed- 
ness excelling  all  possibilities  of  earthly  comfort.  No 
conception  of  the  gospel  promise  is  adequate,  which 
does  not  include  the  forgiveness  of  sin,  and  by  it,  the 
redemption  of  the  soul  from  death,  the  favor  of  God, 
and  with  it,  the  crown  of  glory  which  fadeth  not 
away. 

When  it  is  said,  that  a  minister  should  be  moved 
by  a  spirit  of  good-will,  it  is  meant,  that  just  such 
love  as  filled  the  bosom  of  the  Saviour  should  in- 
flame him  ;  that  just  such  blessings  as  Christ  pur- 
chased by  his  death,  he  yearns  to  convey  to  men.  It 
means,  that  he  is  so  in  harmony  with  Christ  in  his 
heart,  that  he  burns  with  desire  to  persuade  men  to 
be  reconciled  to  God,  through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
How  exalted  this  benevolence  is  ;  how  different  from 


Good-will  to  Men,  29 

the  ordinary  exercises  of  good-will ;  how  distinct  will 
be  the  efforts  to  which  it  impels,  how  immeasurable 
the  blessings  to  which  it  invites,  is  readily  seen.  It 
is  indeed  only  saying  that  in  every  minister  of  Christ 
the  spirit  of  Christ  should  be  enthroned.  Such  be- 
nevolence will  give  the  true  tone  and  dignity  to  the 
ministry.  It  will  be  to  it  a  safe  and  pure  inspiration. 
It  will  inflame  the  preacher  with  a  zeal  according  to 
knowledge.  It  will  render  him  forgetful  of  self  in 
his  regard  for  others.  It  will  secure  him  against  the 
enticements  of  pride  and  the  flatteries  of  the  world. , 
The  absorbing  worth  of  the  end  he  seeks  will  ex- 
clude the  thoughts  of  his  own  instrumentality ;  and 
his  loyalty  to  his  Master  will  induce  him  to  lay  all 
the  honors  at  his  feet.  For  love  is  truly  humble,  and 
they  who  most  love  the  Lord  and  are  most  absorbed 
by  the  perception  and  power  of  his  love,  are  ever  the 
most  willing  and  joyful  in  carrying  out  his  plans. 

If  there  is  any  thing  real  in  the  union  of  the  be- 
liever with  Christ,  it  can  never  be  doubted  that  those 
who  are  especially  called  to  declare  his  mercy  should 
be  eminently  moved  by  good-will  to  men  ;  that  they 
should  be  fired  with  the  zeal  of  the  Master,  who 
esteemed  not  his  life  dear  unto  Him,  but  was  strait- 
ened until  by  his  death  his  great  purpose  was  ful- 
filled. 


^^^B 

M 

CHAPTER   V. 

CHRIST-LIKE    COMPASSION. 

|T  may  seem  that  what  is  convej-ed  by  the 
term  compassion,  is  properly  included  in 
what  has  already  been  said.  There  are, 
however,  reasons  for  the  distinction  —  a  reason  of 
emphasis,  if  no  other. 

A  portrait  of  Jesus,  in  which  his  compassion  is  not 
delineated,  does  not  satisfy.  His  love  takes  that 
form  when  the  sufferings  of  men  arrest  his  attention. 
Distress  penetrates  his  heart ;  sorrow  brings  tears  to 
his  eyes ;  the  cry  of  the  suppliant  awakens  his  sym- 
pathy and  the  forlorn  and  helpless  hear  Him  saying,. 
"  Be  of  good  cheer,  go  in  peace."  His  sensitiveness, 
his  appreciation  of  human  necessities,  the  yearning 
tenderness  which  poured  out  the  pathetic  lamentation 
over  Jerusalem,  indicate  the  depth  and  quickness  of 
his  compassions.  Whatever  in  Christ  illustrates  his 
desire  to  forgive  sin  and  deliver  from  the  bondage  of 
death,  is  the  working  of  the  same  spirit.  It  is  a 
faithful  description  of  his  life,  and  mission,  to  say, 
*'  He  had  compassion  on  them,  forgave  their  sins,  and 
hbaled  their  diseases." 

This  quality  of  the  Master's  work  should  be  closely 


Christ-like  Compassion.  31 

emulated  by  the  servant.  It  will  bring  him  into  im- 
mediate contact  with  the  sufferings  which  the  gospel 
is  to  relieve.  Christ  came  not  to  call  the  righteous, 
but  sinners  to  repentance,  —  emphatically  lost  sinners 
Christ  offered  Himself  to  save  the  lost.  He  under- 
stood the  contents  of  this  fearful  epithet.  His  com- 
passions glowed,  and  his  love  yearned  over  souls 
under  just  such  a  weight  of  misery.  The  contumelies 
He  endured  in  his  earthly  career,  the  incomprehensi- 
ble struggle  of  Gethsemane,  the  awful  darkness  and 
desertion  of  the  cross,  give  some  glimpses,  at  least, 
of  his  estimate  of  the  woes  impending  over  the  guilty. 
How  else  could  He  have  ransomed  them  at  such  a 
cost  ?  And  how  could  He  have  met  the  demands  of 
the  mighty  enterprise  of  love,  had  not  a  divine  com- 
passion moved  Him  on  it  to  lay  down  his  life  ? 

It  is  difficult  to  frame  any  consistent  interpretation 
of  the  life  and  crucifixion  of  our  Lord,  without  esti- 
mating the  guilt  of  sin  as  so  heavy  as  to  entail  a 
heavy  doom  of  suffering  ;  and  therefore  counting  de- 
liverance from  it  so  great  an  event  as  to  justify  the 
priceless  ransom.  No  other  view  can  save  the  cross 
from  the  satire  of  being  "  a  grand  impertine-nce,"  or 
exempt  the  songs  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven  from 
the  charge  of  heartless  exaggerations. 

The  record  we  have  of  the  teachings,  the  mighty 
and  the  benevolent  works  of  the  Saviour,  and  the 
substance  of  his  promises,  all  imply  that  sinners  in 
their  sins  are  sufferers,  exposed  to  a  retribution,  both 
certain  and  dreadful.     It  was  this  condition  of  the 


32  The  Ministry  we  need, 

race  under  the  first  administration  of  God,  to  which 
the  compassions  of  Christ  responded.  Here  was  a 
prospect  on  which  tJie  Son  of  man  could  not  look 
without  the  deepest  emotions.  Nor  was  it  mere 
emotion  ;  it  stirred  that  current  of  active  love  that 
bore  Him  through  the  self-denials  and  pangs  which 
wrought  salvation. 

It  is  a  distinct  part  of  the  ministerial  spirit,  to  be 
in  sympathy  with  Christ  in  his  compassions.  The 
servant  should  know  the  work  he  has  to  do,  and  in 
his  measure  fathom  its  conditions  and  its  results. 
He,  like  the  Lord  Himself,  is  to  look  upon  men  as 
lost,  and,  in  the  fearful  conception  of  the  impending 
ruin,  to  be  moved  for  their  rescue  and  yearn  for 
their  salvation.  It  requires  the  utmost  tenderness  to 
deal  with  the  ruined  who  are  insensible  to  their  ex- 
posures. Their  ignorance  and  unconcern  call  for 
knowledge  and  compassion  in  their  deliverers.  It 
was  because  the  Apostle  knew  the  terrors  of  the 
Lord,  that  he  so  earnestly  persuaded  men  to  be 
reconciled  to  God.  These  judgments  of  God  hang- 
ing over  the  guilty,  were  the  fittest  stimulants  to  that 
energy  and  tenderness  which  Paul  always  displayed 
in  his  exhortations  and  appeals. 

No  one  thing  is  of  higher  moment  in  a  minister. 
Without  it  zeal  is  apt  to  be  an  intemperate  and  un- 
reasonable heat.  Instead,  the  minister  should  burn 
with  a  fervor  justified  by  his  conception  of  the  mo- 
mentous issue.  So  long  as  to  him  sin  is  under  the 
condemnation  of  God,  and  retribution  in  the  future 


Christ-like  Compassion.  33 

a  revealed  fact,  so  long  he  has  just  cause  to  be  in 
earnest,  to  plead,  exhort  with  all  long  suffering  and^ 
doctrine,  and  to  be  zealous  in  importuning  men  to 
accept  the  mercy  of  the  gospel. 

To  such  a  fervor  Guizot  attributes  much  of  the  suc- 
cess of  the  efforts  for  the  revival  of  religion  in  France. 
He  calls  it  "  the  passionate  desire  to  save  human 
souls."  "  A  force  born  and  developed  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Christian  religion,  and  in  that  alone."  "The 
ardent  solicitudfe  for  the  eternal  welfare  of  human 
souls,  the  never  wearying  effort  to  prepare  human 
souls  for  eternity,  to  set  them,  even  during  their  ex- 
istence, in  intimate  relations  with  God,  and  to  pre- 
pare them  to  undergo  his  judgments ;  we  have  in  all 
this  a  fact  essentially  Christian,  one  of  the  sublimest 
characterstics  of  Christianity." 

These  are  pregnant  words.  They  present  a  vital 
topic  for  Christian  thought.  The  passion  for  souls  is 
distinct  from  the  impulses  of  humanity.  It  regards 
man,  and  is  moved  for  him  as  immortal,  and  as  a 
subject  of  the  divine  government.  It  seizes  upon 
the  relations  of  the  soul  to  God,  and  the  preparation 
of  the  soul  to  meet  God!s  judgment,  as  facts  of  the 
deepest  significance.  It  expands  the  happiness  of 
man  into  the  limitless  future,  and  grounds  the  secu- 
rity of  that  happiness  upon  enjoying  God's  approba- 
tion. 

All  true  Christian  compassion  contains  this  ele- 
ment. It  is  something  more  than  human  instincts. 
Its  scope  is  broader  than  the  field  of  temporal 
3 


34  TJie  Ministry  we  need. 

wretchedness.  It  turns  upon  a  more  fundamental 
view  of  man,  than  that  which  embraces  only  his  re- 
lation to  present  scenes  and  events.  Its  object  is 
man,  in  the  entireness  of  his  being  and  possibilities  ; 
man  in  his  condition  of  present  and  impending 
wretchedness. 

If  it  degrades  the  idea  of  Christ's  compassion,  to 
limit  it  to  a  tender  feeling  for  the  bodily  sufferings, 
under  which  men  labor,  it  equally  degrades  the  same 
sentiment  in  us,  if  we  only  sympathize  in  the  brief 
pains  and  sorrows  of  those  whose  miseries  we  wit- 
ness. The  mystery  of  the  cross  is  not  relieved  by 
narrowing  the  force  of  it  to  what  it  may  accomplish 
in  our  present  short  existence.  On  the  contrary,  such 
a  view  exposes  it  to  all  the  disparaging  criticism,  so 
freely  indulged  in,  by  those  who  do  not  realize  the 
necessity  of  a  scheme  of  reconciliation. 

Christian  earnestness  is  justified  by  the  same  con- 
siderations which  justify  the  death  of  Christ.  If  the 
cross  means  that  sinners  must  perish  without  it,  then 
Christ's  compassion  means  that  his  heart  is  moved 
by  the  peril  of  souls  exposed  on  account  of  sin.  If 
those  who  are  to  do'  the  work  of  Christ  need  to  be 
moved  with  feelings  like  his,  the  substance  of  their 
compassion  must  be  a  deep  and  tender  solicitude  for 
the  soul. 

Christianity  is  nowhere  more  distinct  from  hu- 
manity than  here ;  and  nowhere  is  the  difference  be- 
tween religious  enthusiasm  and  philanthropy  more 
palpable.     The  aim  of  the  gospel  is,  first,  to  set  men 


Christ-like  Compassion.  35 

right  with  God ;  and  having  done  that,  the  mightiest 
barrier  to  happiness  is  removed.  But  the  contro- 
versy with  God  is  in  reference  to  his  law.  Sin  and 
obedience  are  the  great  facts.  God's  disapprobation 
follows  transgression  ;  and  it  is  reasonable  to  ask  the 
question,  Can  an  accountable  moral  being  be  happy 
under  the  government  of  God,  while  sin  remains  un- 
forgiven  ?  If  not,  then  to  what  purpose  are  all 
ameliorating  circumstances  and  mitigations  of  evil  ? 
If  the  displeasure  of  God  rests  upon  the  soul  for  its 
sins,  whatever  may  be  the  alleviations  of  the  tempo- 
ral condition,  the  attainment  of  blessedness  remains 
an  impossibility. 

If  the  present  life  is  the  period  in  which  the  par- 
don of  sin  is  to  be  secured,  then  the  present  life  has, 
as  opportunity,  a  value  as  immeasurable  as  eternity. 
The  manifestation  of  Christ  in  time,  then  becomes 
the  highest  demonstration  of  divine  love.  Then  the 
compassion  of  Christ  has  a  depth,  a  reasonableness, 
and  a  breadth  of  comprehension,  which  will  be  re- 
vealed more  and  more,  throughout  the  ages  of  eter- 
nity, to  every  redeemed  spirit.  We  can  understand 
something  of  his  willingness  to  suffer.  Though  we 
may  not  fathom  the  love  which  so  meekly  and  ma- 
*  jestically  exalts  the  life  of  the  Son  of  God,  we  may 
catch  some  glimpses  of  the  heart  of  compassion, 
which  bore  the  load  of  human  woes.  Beneath  the 
lively  sympathy  He  felt  for  every  mortal  ill,  there  was 
a  deeper  tone  of  love  —  the  love  of  Christ  for  the 
soul,  which  is   to  survive  the  bod}^,  and  which  is  in- 


36  The  Ministry  we  need, 

vested  with  the  cajDacity  to  enjoy  forever  the  presence 
of  God,  and  to  be  made  partaker  of  the  divine  nature. 

The  revelation  of  this  love  is  the  singular  revelation 
made  in  the  Incarnation.  To  share  in  this  love  is 
the  highest  gift  of  God  to  man.  This  love,  when 
they  caught  the  idea  of  it,  before  it  was  made  actual, 
filled  the  heavenly  host  with  amazement.  The  fruit 
of  it  will  be  the  abounding  joy  of  heaven.  Any  lower 
view  than  this  dims  the  lustre  of  the  gospel,  and 
diminishes  the  glory  of  the  cross.  The  compassion 
of  Christ  sinks  to  a  feeble  sentiment,  instead  of  being 
a  divine  energy,  compassing  and  accomplishing  the 
exaltation  of  a  ruined  race. 

When  the  ministers  of  Christ  assume  to  carry  for- 
ward his  work,  they  need  the  inspiration  of  this  spirit. 
The  aim  of  Christianity  is  nothing  less  than  the  aim 
of  Christ.  The  preachers  of  Christianity  must  thus 
expand  their  view  to  the  same  comprehensive  limits ; 
and  when  they  preach,  preach  to  men,  under  the  stir- 
ring conviction  of  their  real  exposures.  Nor  is  it 
enough  to  admit  the  speculative  fact  of  their  expos- 
ure. This  fact  must  exert  its  influence  upon  their 
hearts.  It  is  the  chief  fact  to  excite  those  melting 
and  resistless  compassions  that  urge  ministers  to  be 
importunate  in  their  expostulations.  Reading  the  * 
evil  of  sin  in  the  cross,  and  the  profound  dangers  of 
men  in  the  life  and  death  of  the  Redeemer,  they  will 
feel  their  hearts  burning  within  them  ;  and  their  de- 
sires will  be  fervent  and  strong  ;  and  they  will  be  im- 
pelled to  plead  with  all  the  force  and  persistency  of 
intense  concern. 


Christ-like  Compassion.  37 

It  is  reasonable  to  conclude  that  the  strength  of 
active  compassion  will,  in  some  measure,  correspond 
with  the  idea  entertained  of  sin.  For  if  the  chief 
peril  is  found  in  the  impending  consequences  of 
transgression,  we  must  intelligently  apprehend  the 
.  transgression  before  we  can  be  moved  by  the  calami- 
ties it  threatens. 

Precisely  at  this  point  does  the  Scriptural  line  of 
thought  diverge  from  the  speculative.  The  tendency 
of  human  judgment  is  to  measure  sin  by  the  evils  or 
injuries  which  flow  from  it,  or  stand  connected  with 
it.  Sin  and  evil  come  to  be  synonymous.  The  guilt 
of  a  theft  is  the  injury  inflicted.  The  crime  of  drunk- 
enness is  the  swift  following  wretchedness.  Confin- 
ing, either  really  or  practically,  the  contents  of  sin 
to  these  narrow  limits,  eliminates  all  the  spiritual 
quality  of  it ;  gradually  absolves  the  criminal  of 
guilt,  and  consigns  him  to  the  category  of  unfortu- 
nates. The  sense  of  ill-desert  vanishes  ;  the  idea  of 
resisted  authority  is  lost  sight  of;  commiseration  is 
felt  instead  of  condemnation  ;  and  whatever  is  in- 
cluded in  the  fearful  threatening  of  God's  displ-easure 
ceases  to  have  force. 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  any  deep  moral  earn- 
estness being  awakened,  to  deliver  men  from  sin 
under  such  views.  The  ravages  of  sin  have  been 
always  present,  and  have  embittered  the  lives  of  all 
the  generations  of  men ;  and  yet  no  thorough,  deep 
working  compassion  has  ever  been  elicited ;  no  ener- 
getic   redemptive   scheme    has   ever   been    devised. 


38  The  Ministjy  we  need. 

These,  and  all  feeble  conceptions  of  sin,  hide  its 
deadliness  and  its  hideousness  by  veiling  its  true 
nature.  The  malignity  of  the  will  that  chooses 
wrong ;  the  badness  of  the  heart  th^  takes  delight 
in  selfish  indulgence  ;  the  stain  upon  the  soul  by  its 
contempt  of  the  rule  of  right ;  the  defilement  of  the 
conscience  by  resisting  God  ;  all  these  are  lost  sight 
of.  The  soul's  loss  of  its  native  purity,  its  separation 
from  God,' its  incapacity  for  fellowship  with  goodness, 
and  for  participating  in  the  joys  of  holiness,  fail  to  be 
weighed  according  to  their  value.  So,  also,  the  pen- 
alty of  the  divine  law,  considered  as  an  actual  deter- 
mination of  the  reigning  justice  of  the  universe,  is 
emptied  of  its  contents.  But  if  the  soul  is  under- 
stood in  its  true  nature,  with  all  its  moral  responsibili- 
ties ;  with  its  vast  capacities  and  possibilities  \  with 
its  proper  dependence  on  God,  and  its  accountability 
to  Him,  as  the  subject  of  an  actual  and  righteous 
government ;  with  a  life  before  it  eternal  in  its  dura- 
tion and  development ;  the  idea  of  sin  assumes  other 
proportions,  and  the  peril  of  sin  —  grown  to  be  mo- 
mentous, apart  from  the  calamitous  consequences  of 
it  here,  because  measured  by  the  more  fearful  conse- 
quences of  it  hereafter,  when  the  soul  will  meet  the 
judgment  of  God,  and  reap  the  fruit  of  its  own 
doings  —  must  awaken  an  anxiety  which  no  feeble 
efforts  can  pacify.  The  same  chord  in  the  Christian 
heart  will  be  touched  which  vibrated  in  the  Saviour's 
bosom  ;  and  those,  who  in  their  own  deliverance  from 
the  curse  of  sin,  have  experienced   the   might  of  a 


Christ-like  Compassiojt.  39 

Saviour's  compassion,  will,  in  like  manner,  have  com- 
passion upon  their  fellow-men,  and  burn  with  an  in- 
tense desire  to  bring  them  to  Christ,  that  they  too 
may  be  saved. 

No  one  can  read  the  record  of  the  apostolic  min- 
istry without  finding  ample  illustration  of  these  views. 
It  is  certain  that  the  preachers  who  went  everywhere 
proclaiming  Jesus  Christ,  were  penetrated  with  a  con- 
sciousness of  the  reality  of  the  coming  life,  and  of 
the  connection  between  receiving  Christ  and  being 
delivered  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  made  sure  of 
blessedness.  They  preached  Jesus  and  the  Resur- 
rection —  Jesus  who  saved  his  people  from  their  sins, 
and  gave  them  a  title  to  the  inheritance.  This  was  the 
energy  of  their  earnestness.  This  made  Paul  willing 
to  be  accursed  from  Christ  for  his  brethren,  his  kins- 
men according  to  the  flesh.  He  fixed  his  thought 
upon  the  judgment.  He  mastered  himself,  lest  he 
should  be  a  castaway.  He  looked  for  a  building  of 
God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands.  He  believed 
and  therefore  spake,  "  knowing  that  He  which  raised 
up  the  Lord  Jesus,  shall  raise  up  xxs  also  by  Jesus,  and 
shall  present  us  with  you.  Wherefore  we  labor,  that 
whether  present  or  absent,  we  may  be  accepted  of 
Him." 

Thoughts  confined  to  a  brief  earthly  existence 
would  have  prompted  no  such  utterances.  The 
Apostles  looked  with  a  clearer  and  more  just  scrutiny 
into  the  present  and  the  future.  They  viewed,  with  a 
sort  of  indifference,  the  good  and  evil  of  the  present 


40  The  Ministry  ive  7ieed, 

life,  so  weak  and  diminutive,  compared  with  the  reali- 
ties to  be  revealed.  They  paid  no  regard  to  personal 
sufferings  and  losses,  if  they  could  win  souls.  For, 
to  them  it  was  better  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ. 
For  themselves,  "  they  pressed  towards  the  mark  for 
the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus," 
and  by  every  act,  and  by  all  available  efforts  per- 
suaded others  to  do  the  same. 

These  facts  give  the  tone  and  complexion  to  their 
compassions,  and  bring  them  into  harmony  with  the 
compassions  of  Christ. 

We  are  not  by  reason  of  the  preeminence  of  this 
type  of  compassion,  to  disregard  the  fact,  that  the 
tenderness  of  our  Saviour  made  Him  susceptible  to 
all  human  suffering.  He  was  touched  with  a  feeling 
of  our  infirmities.  The  sensibilities  of  his  human 
nature,  qualified  Him  to  perform  the  service  of  a 
Redeemer.  He  had  a  heart  open  to  the  cry  of  all 
forms  of  distress.  He  was  anointed  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  the  poor ;  He  was  sent  to  heal  the  broken- 
hearted ;  to  preach  deliverance  to  the  captives  and 
recovery  of  sight  to  the  blind  ;  to  set  at  liberty  them 
that  are  bruised ;  to  preach  the  acceptable  year  of 
the  Lord.  These  ministries  of  mercy  are  the  visible 
grace  and  ornament  of  his  mission.  They  are  not 
less  appropriate  and  becoming  in  his  disciples. 

All  Christ's  servants  are  sent  upon  similar  errands  ; 
and  the  love  which  is  quickened  in  them  finds  ex- 
pression in  every  exercise  of  human  kindness.  The 
elevation  of  the  fallen  ;  the  relief  of  the  wretched  ; 


Christ-like  Compassion.  41 

the  bestowment  of  comfort  upon  the  destitute,  are 
distinct  offices  of  Christian  charity.  Even  the  natu- 
ral heart  feels  in  some  degree  the  appeal  —  tliough 
the  wail  of  despair  and  misery,  full  often,  meets  only 
a  deaf  ear.  The  responses  of  humanity  to  suffering 
humanity,  shed  light  upon  the  dismal  regions  of 
misery;  afford  glimpses  of  the  better  side  of  our 
nature  —  some  sparkling  fragments  of  its  pristine 
beauty,  —  and  intimate,  that  man  can  be  something 
other  than  the  enemy  of  his  fellow. 

A  true  manhood  is  fellowship  with  man.  But  this 
fellowship,  so  utterly  broken  by  the  reign  of  selfish- 
ness, is  restored  only  in  Christ.  Without  this  divine 
regeneration,  the  energy  of  human  sympathy  is  en- 
tirely inadequate  to  cope  with  the  malignant  influ- 
ences which  fill  the  world  with  darkness  and  woe. 
The  active  and  systematic  endeavors  to  ameliorate 
the  condition  of  the  race  ;  to  lift  the  crushing  burdens 
under  which  men  groan,  and  to  defend  them  against 
social  and  natural  evils,  are  almost  entirely  the  out- 
growth of  Christianity.  No  endeavors  of  philan- 
thropy, in  any  degree  commensurate  with  the  neces- 
sities of  the  case,  have  ever  been  developed.  Christ 
taught  the  lesson  of  sympathy.  He  uttered  kind 
words  ;  performed  kind  offices ;  put  Himself  upon  a 
level  with  those  whom  He  sought  to  bless ;  put  his 
own  hand  to  the  work  and  made  the  wretched  in 
every  phase  of  suffering,  feel  the  warmth  of  his  heart. 
It  is  for  his  ministers  to  do  in  like  manner,  with  the 
same  lov,fliness,  and  with  warm  and  sympathetic  en- 


42  The  Minis tiy  zve  7ieed. 

deavors.  And  this  is  a  power  in  the  ministry,  an 
indispensable  requisite  to  a  symmetrical  and  success- 
ful prosecution  of  the  work.  It  is  the  spiritual  type 
of  compassion,  united  with  tenderness  of  sympathy, 
that  fits  for  the  manifold,  the  loving,  the  delicate,  and 
the  forbidding  duties  of  Christ-like  devotion. 

A  sinner,  in  the  hopelessness  and  helplessness  of 
his  ruin,  by  the  mere  fact  of  his  situation  and  expos- 
ures, becomes  an  object  of  interest.  His  outward 
circumstances  do  not  repel  or  dishearten.  Whether 
he  is  found  dwelling  amid  the  comforts  and  attrac- 
tions of  affluence,  or  in  the  abject  wretchedness  and 
squalor  of  loathsome  and  vicious  poverty ;  whether 
within  the  area  of  neighborhood  and  common  coun- 
try, or  separated  by  the  distance  and  the  antago- 
nisms of  half-civilized  or  barbaric  tribes  ;  in  virtue  of 
kindred  with  him,  and  in  virtue  of  the  unlimited  offers 
of  mercy,  his  necessities  spontaneously  excite  Christian 
solicitu'de.  If  the  commission  of  Christ  includes  the 
evangelization  of  the  race,  as  truly  as  his  death  pro- 
vides a  way  of  life  for  every  individual,  the  execution 
of  the  gracious  purpose  admits  of  no  restriction  to 
places  or  persons.  The  working  of  compassion  must 
be  as  universal  as  the  call  for  it. 

A  sympathy  less  pervasive  is  not  the  sympathy  of 
Christ.  His  infinite  compassions  are  for  ruined  man 
in  all  the  countless  varieties  of  his  misery.  His  gos- 
pel is  grace  for  the  nations.  His  hand  holds  the 
pardons  ready  for  sinners  of  all  tribes,  races,  and 
conditions.      His   heart   bounds  with  joy  over  any 


Christ-like  Compassion.  43 

sinner  of  any  complexion,  or  any  class,  when  he 
turns  to  seek  life  ;  and  when  the  followers  of  Christ, 
go  forth  to  speak  in  his  name,  they  need  the  same 
breadth  of  feeling,  the  same  cosmopolitan  good-will, 
the  same  lively  and  unexclusive  affections.  What 
else  will  inflame  a  zeal,  satisfied  to  wait,  in  patient 
earnestness,  by  the  side  of  an  African  kraal,  for  weary 
years,  before  one  note  of  praise  to  the  Redeemer  is 
heard  from  its  dark  inhabitants  ?  What  else  will 
nerve  to  the  forbidding  task,  of  delivering  from  the 
pollutions  of  the  dens  of  city  heathenism,  the  almost 
brutal  victims  of  vicious  habits  ?  '  What  else  can 
enable  one  with  meek  forbearance  to  withstand  the 
contumely  of  profane  and  worldly  pride  ?  What  else 
can  sustain  the  persistent  effort  to  present  the  hum- 
ble way  of  life  in  Christ,  to  those  who  by  much 
learning  are  tempted  to  trifle  with  the  words  of 
Christian  love  ?  Such  self-denials  exceed  the  prompt- 
ings of  philanthropy.  The  shriveled  affections  of 
the  natural  heart,  turned  in  upon  itself,  are  not  equal 
to  the  occasion.  It  requires  the  new  heart  given  of 
God  ;  the  new  life  after  Christ,  and  out  of  Christ. 
In  his  spirit,  none  of  these  things  are  impracticable. 

It  is  all  the  more  necessary  to  keep  in  view  such 
distinctive  truths  now  that  the  tendency  is  so  decided 
in  public  speaking,  in  much  written  in  books  and 
perodicals,  and  in  the  strain  of  conversation,  to  con- 
fine religion  to  the  relative  duties,  and  to  restrict  its 
fruits  to  the  courtesies  and  amenities  of  life.  There 
are    undisguised  endeavors    to    disparage    Christian 


44  TJie  Ministry  %ve  need. 

doctrine,  and  to  exalt  the  value  of  all  efforts  ^by 
which  society  is  relieved  of  moral  and  social  griev- 
ances. The  popular  religion  is  not  subniission  to 
God,  worship  of  his  name,  hope  in  his  mercy,  and 
fidelity  to  his  requirements ;  but  rather  a  certain 
cultivation  and  moral  discipline,  which  gives  security, 
peace,  and  convenience,  in  every-day  relations  and 
intercourse.  It  does  not  embrace  the  notion  of  re- 
covery from  sin  or  preparation  forfuture  blessedness, 
excepting  as  the  latter  results  from  uprightness  and 
good  temper.  It  does  not  propose  to  set  man  face  to 
face  with  God,  and  establish  peace  with  Him  upon 
the  revealed  conditions  of  mercy. 

If  this  is  all  that  the  regeneration  of  the  race,  and 
final  salvation  demand,  the  work,  is  a  very  simple 
one.  Enthusiasm  for  humanity,  and  the  ordinary 
impulses  of  good  feeling,  are  sufficient. 

But  is  this  what  Christ  meant  when  He  came  to 
save  the  lost  ?  Is  no  more  than  this  implied  when 
men  are  warned  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come  ?  Do 
these  things  constitute  the  sum  of  the  blessings, 
which  the  unparalleled  love  of  Christ,  bestows  upon 
his  followers?  If  so,  then  his  ministers  have  no 
occasion  to  bear  upon  their  hearts  the  burden  of 
souls,  or  to  be  concerned  about  eternal  life  and 
eternal  death.  But  if  otherwise,  if  Christ's  compas- 
sions  moved  Him  to  die,  to  redeem  men  from  the  just 
condemnation  of  sin,  the  weight  of  eternal  retribu- 
tion, and  to  secure  them  the  joy  of  a  heaven  of  in- 
finite   holiness,  in  the   presence  of   God,  then   his 


Christ-like  Compassioii,  45 

ministers  must  be  something  more  than  moral  re- 
formers. They  must  strike  at  a  deeper  root  of  evil 
than  mere  surface  irregularities,  and  labor  to  do 
something  more  than  correct  annoyances  and  incon- 
veniences arising  from  transgressions.  They  have  a 
different  arithmetic  of  values  to  study,  and  a  more 
noble  end  to  gain.  And  this  work  cannot  be  done 
as  Christ  Himself  did  it,  without  a  measure  of  the 
compassion  which  prompted  Him  to  lay  down  his 
life  to  save  souls  from  death. 

If  this  appears  to  be  an  inordinate  representation, 
and  to  force  one  phase  of  religious  truth  too  much  into 
the  foreground,  it  should  be  remembered,  that  just 
now,  this  characteristic  truth,  by  the  drift  of  thought 
and  opinion,  and  the  dictation  of  public  sentiment, 
is  thrust  far  into  the  background.  The  aid  of  religion 
is  acceptable  for  this  present  life,  if  it  can  smooth  the 
roughnesses  that  disfigure  society ;  if  it  can  clothe 
the  rude  in  the  guise  of  beauty,  and  silence  the  up- 
roar of  outrageous  sin.  But  the  gospel  is  chiefly  the 
offer  of  eternal  life.  While  securing  the  peace  of  the 
undying  soul  it  cultivates  the  highest  and  purest  virtues 
and  maintains  the  best  moral  and  spiritual  discipline. 
It  treats  the  life  that  now  is,  and  the  life  that  is  to 
come  as  parts  of  one  whole.  It  seeks  to  form  such 
characters  here,  as  are  fit  to  be  transferred  to  the 
world  of  purity  and  glory  hereafter.  Redemption 
aims  to  rescue  men  from  the  power  of  sin,  to  excite 
in  them  the  purpose  and  the  love  of  hohness,  and 
then  to  exalt   them,  justified  and  sanctified,  to   the 


46 


The  Ministry  zve  need. 


absolute  enjoyment  of  peace.  Such  is  the  design 
which  the  loving  heart  of  Christ  conceived,  and 
which  his  life  of  humiliation  accomplished.  And 
such  in  spirit  and  aim  is  the  work  of  his  ministers. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


ENDURING    HARDNESS. 


NDURING  hardness  may  be  taken  to  ex- 
press a  characteristic,  comprehending  the 
abiHty  and  disposition  to  meet  whatever 
trial  and  heavy  toil  a  minister  may  be  subject  to. 

In  the  fairest  view  of  it,  this  calHng  is  noble  and 
dignified,  presenting  the  most  exalted  and  worthy 
aims,  and  sustained  by  substantial  supports  and  cheer- 
ing hopes.  It  would  be,  nevertheless,  a  childish 
weakness,  to  expect  it  to  be  exempt  from  severe 
conflicts  and  perplexing  straits.  To  build  up  right- 
eousness in  the  face  of  domineering  and  time-honored 
iniquity,  and  to  make  head  against  a  rebellion,  strong 
in  its  vast  majority,  and  bold  by  the  completeness 
with  which  it  enlists  the  pride  and  passions  of  men, 
cannot  reasonably  be  esteemed  an  easy  task.  And 
if  it  is  a  great  work,  it  demands,  in  common  with  all 
worthy  undertakings,  an  appreciation  and  devotion, 
with  forgetful ness  of  self  and  disregard  of  suffering, 
so  that  neither*  inherent  difficulties,  nor  incidental 
pains,  shall  clamp  the  ardor,  or  diminish  the  energy 
of  pursuit. 

To  suppose  that  the  grandest  exercise  of  human 


48  The  Ministry  we  need. 

power,  upon  the  most  exalted  plane  of  action,  neces- 
sitates no  toiling  or  striving,  is  to  contradict  all  an- 
ticipations of  reason,  and  all  results  of  experience. 
The  degree  of  strength  and  fortitude  required  in  an 
enterprise,  depends,  not  alone  upon  the  outward  ob- 
structions to  it,  but  as  well  upon  the  weight  and  true 
magnitude  of  the  object  itself  Great  achievements 
involve  the  outlay  of  great  energies. 

That  the  work  of  redemption  has  this  preeminent 
and  inherent  dignity  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  it  is 
God's  chief  manifestation  of  wisdom  and  love ;  that 
in  its  interest  the  course  of  history  is  designed  and 
proceeds,  and  that  in  its  development  the  Son  of  God 
is  the  chief  actor.  It  embraces  larger  results  and 
more  grand  than  the  visible  creation,  for  that  is  finite 
and  will  come  to  an  end  ;  whereas,  the  glory  of  God 
in  redemption  is  infinite,  and  the  reign  of  blessed- 
ness which  it  sets  up,  is  eternal.  When  God  sent  his 
Son  into  the  world,  in  the  form  of  a  servant,  He  in- 
vested Him  in  a  peculiar  glory.  "  And  the  Word  was 
made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,  and  we  beheld  his 
glory,  the  glory  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father, 
full  of  grace  and  truth."  The  Son  was  the  appointed 
mess.enger  and  mediator,  the  representative  of  the 
Father.  God  glorified  his  Son,  in  appointing  Him  . 
to  show  forth  the  glory  of  his  love,  and  to  convey 
pardon  and  eternal  life  to  sinners  ;  to  ransom  and 
save  the  lost  by  the  sacrifice  of  Himself  on  the  cross, 
and  to  bring  home  the  countless  multitudes  of  sons 
and  daughters  of  the  Lord  God  Almighty,  who  are  to 


Endurmg  Hardness.  49 

constitute  the  society  of  heaven,  by  whom  God  is  to 
be  forever  adored,  and  in  whom  the  universe  will 
forever  admire  the  triumphs  of  grace. 

This  redemption  is  but  partially  conceived  of,  when 
we  limit  it  to  the  elevation  and  transcendent  felicity 
of  ransomed  souls.  Its  brightest  lustre  is  in  the 
wonderful  display  it  presents  of  the  profound  benig- 
nity of  God,  the  unfathomable  thoughts  of  love  and 
mercy  towards  men,  made  actual  in  the  incarnation ; 
and  in  that  highest  glory  ascribed  to  God  forever, 
by  all  the  moral  beings  who  shall  have  witnessed, 
or  participated  in,  the  execution  of  the  plan.  What 
earth-born  and  earth-completed  design  can  for  a  mo- 
ment compare  with  this  in  solid  grandeur  and  endur- 
ing worth.  However  much  this  redemption  may  sur- 
pass our  powers  of  comprehension,  in  the  mystery  of 
its  origin,  or  in  the  vast  sweep  of  its  effects,  it  is,  nev- 
ertheless, the  precise  commission  of  Christ's  ministry 
to  carry  it  forward  towards  its  consummation.  The 
treasure  of  infinite  wisdom  is  committed  to  earthen 
vessels,  that  the  excellency  of  the  power  may  be  of 
God  and  not  of  us. 

Christ  Himself,  with  wonderful  condescension,  as- 
sociates his  disciples  in  the  very  spirit  and  glory  of 
his  rnission.  "  The  glory  which  thou  hast  given  me  I 
have  given  them,  that  they  may  be  one  even  as  we 
are  one.  I  in  them  and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be 
made  perfect  in  one."  With  what  significance  this 
bestowment  impresses  the  ministry  and  with  what 
honor  it  invests  it,  is  obvious.  The  servants  of  Christ 
4 


50  The  Ministry  we  need. 

are  thus  elected  to  receive  and  manifest,  in  their 
measure,  the  same  love  of 'God  to  men  ;  and  in  the 
spirit  of  Christ  to  declare  the  words  of  eternal  life. 
They  are  called  to  all  the  service,  the  tribulation 
and  joy  of  this  kingdom  of  righteousness  ;  and  it  is 
theirs  to  be  the  subordinate  messengers  of  heavenly 
mercy.  They  are  admitted  to  fellowship  with  Christ 
in  the  toil  and  in  the  glory ;  not  merely  by  their  own 
self-consecration,  but  by  the  incorporating  act  and 
electing  love  of  Christ  Himself.  In  fact,  a  large  and 
conspicuous  portion  of  all  that  the  advancement  of 
God's  kingdom  demands,  is  laid  directly  upon  Christ's 
ministers.  They  are  the  soldiers  who  are  to  be  in 
the  conflict,  and  meet  the  opposition  face  to  face. 
They  are  the  laborers  who  are  to  toil  against  obstruc- 
tions, whatever  they  may  be.  They  are  to  bear  any 
obloquy,  reproach,  or  scorn,  that  the  world  may 
choose  to  visit  upon  them.  They  are  to  endure  the 
coldness  and  apathy  of  unbelief,  w^hen  it  turns  away 
unmoved  from  the  melting  love  of  a  dying  Saviour. 
They  are  to  rise  superior,  in  their  heart-earnestness, 
to  the  supercilious  pride  which  stamps  the  cross  of 
Christ  as  foolishness,  and  derides  the  offer  of  mercy 
as  weakness.  Where  the  name  of  Christ  is  cast  out 
as  evil,  and  the  gospel  rejected  as  an  imposture,  they 
are  to  stand  firmly  for  the  glorious  hope,  inspired  by 
it  themselves,  and  yet  groaning  in  themselves  under 
the  burden  of  souls  who  choose  darkness  rather 
than  light. 

So  far  as  thought  can  take  in  the  issues  of  Christ's 


E7idiiring  Hardness.  51 

mission,  the  fearfulness  of  rejecting  it,  the  joy  of  its 
acceptance,  just  so  far  must  every  minister  of  Christ 
labor,  with  a  sense  of  responsibility  which,  without 
the  promised  aid  of  the  Spirit,  would  make  his  life  an 
oppression  and  a  weariness.  The  same  grace  which 
is  mighty  and  merciful  to  save,  is  also  mighty  and 
merciful  to  sustain.  He  that  has  said,  go  preach  my 
gospel,  —  though  He  has  not  said,  no  tribulation  shall 
attend  you,  —  has  said,  "  Lo  I  am  with  you  alway, 
even  to  the  end  of  the  world." 

There  is,  inherent  in  the  work,  a  burden  to  be 
borne  and  a  conflict  to  be  maintained,  which  impera- 
tively demands  willingness  to  endure,  and  readiness 
to  forego  ease  and  personal  gratification  and  self- 
pleasing.  The  very  essence  of  the  gospel  is  disin- 
terested benevolence,  a  desire  to  do  good  to  others 
without  regard  to  self.  The  fundamental  condition 
of  discipleship  is,  deny  thyself,  take  up  the  cross. 
If  it  is  an  axiom  of  all  worldly  endeavor  that  no 
great  attainment  is  reached  without  great  pains  and 
strifes,  it  must  be  still  more  so  of  this,  that  its  success 
must  involve  toil  and  hardship. 

To  any  one  united  by  faith  and  love  to  the  heart  of 
Christ,  and  by  tenderness  and  compassion  sharing 
the  woes  and  sorrows  of  humanity,  there  is  no  escape 
from  these  burdens.  There  is  a  travail  of  soul  com- 
mon to  the  master  and  servant,  which  cannot  be 
satisfied,  till  redemption  is  completed  ;  and  as  the 
Master  was  straitened  and  groaned  under  the  load, 
so  the  servant  must  gird  himself,  and  take  upon  him 
the  yoke,  and  bear  hardness. 


52  The  Ministry  zve  need. 

"  '  Now  it  behooves  thee  thus  to  put  off  sloth,' 
My  Master  saith,  for  sitting  upon  down 
Or  under  quilt,  one  cometh  not  to  fame, 
Withouten  which,  whoso  his  life  consumes. 
Such  vestige  leaveth  of  himself  on  earth 
As  smoke  in  air  or  in  the  water  flames. 
And  therefore  raise  thee  up,  o'ercome  the  anguish, 
With  spirit  that  overcometh  every  battle. 
If  with  its  heavy  body  it  sink  not." 

If  the  fading  chaplet  of  a  posthumous  earthly  re- 
nown cannot  be  had  without  resisting  sloth  and  ease, 
and  meeting  with  resolute  purpose  the  anguish  of  the 
battle,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  incorruptible 
crown  can  be  won  by  light  effort. 

The  great  victory  of  Christ,  accomplished  when 
He  cried,  "  It  is  finished,"  was  achieved,  in  a  life  of 
unhonored  and  unrewarded  toil  and  privation,  and 
completed,  amid  the  darkness  and  ignominy  of  the 
crucifixion.  How  can  we  take  up  the  work  without 
also  taking  up  the  burden  ?  How  can  we  enter  into 
the  spirit  of  redemption  without  a  sense  of  the  woes 
and  pains  which  afflicted  the  soul  of  the  Son  of 
God  ?  How  can  we  guage  the  miseries,  which  Christ 
so  fully  measured,  without  bearing,  in  part,  the  an- 
guish of  soul  which  He  suffered  ?  How  can  we 
follow  the  cross-bearer,  without  partaking  of  the 
enmity  and  reproach  visited  upon  Him  ?  It  is 
enough  for  the  servant  that  he  be  as  his  Master ; 
and  if  He  carried  the  griefs  of  a  world,  and  sympa- 
thized in  the  sorrows  of  a  race,  and  exposed  Himself 
to  the  indignities  and  opposition  of  men,  blinded  and 


Enduring  Hardness.  53 

hardened  in  sin,  with  a  divine  patience  and  endur 
ance,  with  a  humib'ty  as  profound  as  his  nature  was 
exalted ;  it  cannot  be  too  much  to  expect  his  servants 
to  be  of  a  like  mind,  and  willingly  to  do  as  He  did. 
If  burden  bearing,  self-denials,  and  strivings  are  in- 
separable from  the  work  of  converting  the  world  to 
God,  all  shunning  these  inevitable  things  is  shunning 
the  cross  j  seeking  to  make  light  work  of  it  is  seek- 
ing to  spare  self,  at  the  risk  of  defeating  the  very  erjd 
proposed.  It  would  at  once  annihilate  the  value  of 
this  endurance,  if  it  were  the  endurance  of  self-in- 
flicted, or  invited  suffering.  Nothing  can  be  farther 
from  the  true  spirit  of  the  office,  or  of  any  Christian 
service,  than  self-imposed  or  conventional  inflictions. 
There  is  no  virtue  in  austerities,  nor  in  courted 
martyrdom. 

There  are,  besides  the  great  burdens  and  trials 
which  of  necessity  belong  to  the  promotion  of  God's 
kingdom,  as  the  antagonist  of  all  the  evil  there  is 
in  the  world,  and  to  the  unwelcome  task  of  reforming 
those  who  are  the  slaves  of  passions  and  appetites, 
abundant  incidental  annoyances  and  inconveniences. 
They  have  been  over-much  dwelt  upon  by  a  well 
meant  but  unfortunate  sentimentalism.  They  have 
had  too  large  a  place  in  the  attention  of  those  enter- 
ing the  ministry.  For  the  cares  which  invade  the 
quiet  of  the  parsonage,  the  irritations  growing  up 
within  the  bounds  of  a  parish,  the  sometimes  severe 
bitings  of  penury,  and  the  uncomfortable  straits  into 
which  ministers  are  cast,  although  real,  are  still  com- 


54  ^/^^  Ministry  we  7ieed. 

paratively  unimportant.  They  are  of  like  quality 
with  vexations  and  perplexities,  which  other  callings 
are  exposed  to.  They  should  be  set  aside  as  of 
small  concern,  when  compared  to  the  great  work  in 
hand  ;  just  as  the  naturalist  who  in  his  zeal  for  sci- 
ence pushes  his  way  through  morasses  and  forests, 
teeming  with  pestilent  insects  and  vermin,  taking  no 
heed  of  the  smart  of  the  sting,  in  the  ardor  with  which 
he  presses  towards  his  desired  object. 

To  dwell  much  on  these  things,  when  the  kingdom 
of  God  demands  energy,  will  not  only  eat  out  all  true 
manhood,  but  as  surely  will  destroy  Christian  forti- 
tude and  magnanimity.  Under  a  just  sense  of  the 
immense  issue,  all  hinderances  will  be  withstood,  and 
all  obstructions  and  repulsive  circumstances  will  be 
overborne,  even  as  the  general,  who  best  knows  the 
dismal  scenes  and  horrid  carnage  of  the  battle-field, 
through  them  all  urges  his  battalions  to  the  victory, 
for  the  prize  at  stake. 

The  ministry  has  its  full  share  of  joy,  its  full 
measure  of  delights,  and  as  compared  with  other 
professions  it  receives  an  ample  consideration  in  the 
community.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  any  class  of 
men  happier,  or  to  name  any  service  in  itself  con- 
sidered nobler  or  more  ennobling.  All  the  more, 
therefore,  should  those  who  enter  upon  this  warfare 
be  willing,  self-sacrificing,  patient,  and  endure  hard- 
ness, as  good  soldiers  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

FAITH    IN    CHRIST   AND   THE    PROMISES. 

HERE  must  be  the  sustaining  power  and 
cheering  influence  of  an  expectation.  This 
is  essential  everywhere.  The  question  is, 
what  that  power  and  influence  shal]  be  ?  Even  our 
Lord  Himself  looked  to  the  recompense  of  reward ; 
and  He  by  no  means  leaves  his  servants  to  the 
depression  and  discouragement  of  unrequited  toil. 
Hopeless  labor  sinks  to  the  lowest  verge  of  numan 
endurance  ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  every  energ}^,  and 
the  whole  force  of  mind  and  heart,  are  cheerfully 
given  to  attain  inviting  and  practicable  ends.  It  is 
unjust  to  regard  the  ministry  as  a  form  of  slavery ; 
for  there  can  be  no  exercise  of  human  faculties  more 
consonant  with  the  highest  freedom.  It  is  equally 
unjust  to  describe  it  as  unpaid  toil ;  for  although  in 
the  world's  currency  it  may  fail  to  show  a  satisfactory 
renumeration,  yet  even  in  this  life  it  is  enriched  by 
ample  enjoyments,  and  an  income  of  spiritual  good, 
more  than  atoning  for  incidental  evil. 

We  are  not,  however,  to  look  even  to  the  best 
earthly  encouragements  as  the  true  motive  in  this 
work.     Its  range  is  higher,  and  its  inspiration  comes 


$6  The  Ministry  zve  need. 

from  a  purer  source.  The  sufficient  fountain  is  in 
Christ  and  the  promises.  While  in  many  aspects 
these  coalesce,  they  have  also  a  distinct  influence. 
For  Christ  is  a  personal  inspiration,  and  imparts 
strength  to  the  heart  which  trusts  in  Him.  The  min- 
istry of  Christ  is  a  service  of  love  and  loyalty.  It  is 
fealty  to  a  master  who  has  won  the  heart  first,  and 
with  it  has  carried  captive  the  whole  man.  It  is  the 
outflow  and  expression,  in  which  love  and  gratitude 
seek  to  bring  honor  and  oflerings  to  Him  who  first 
loved.  Nothing  short  of  an  affection  which  gives 
Christ  the  first  place  can  produce  the  essential  devo- 
tion. *'  Lo,  we  have  left  all  and  followed  thee  ; " 
which  can  only  be  truly  said,  when  Christ  and  his 
kingdom  have  become  supreme. 

This  is,  by  no  means,  an  estimation  derived  from 
an  intellectual  comparison  and  judgment.  This 
elevation  is  not  reached  by  a  supereminent  act  of 
reason,  or  by  a  cold  mental  intuition.  It  is  nothing 
more  than  the  common  faith  of  a  believer,  made 
deeper,  stronger,  more  vital  and  comprehensive  by 
receiving  and  resting  upon  the  Saviour,  more  singly 
and  exclusively.  The  richness  of  Christian  experience 
is  a  fuller  consciousness  of  the  love  of  Christ,  and  a 
more  childlike  and  tender  response  to  it.  The  more 
Jesus  Christ  becomes  all  in  all  to  the  heart,  —  the  one 
support  and  joy  and  hope  for  the  present  life  and  the 
life  to  come,  —  the  more  freely  and  delightfully  will 
every  power  of  soul  and  body  bend  to  his  control,  and 
we  shall  live  to  Him.     "  I  am  crucified  with  Christ," 


Faith  ill  Christ  mtd  the  Promises.        57 

said  the  Apostle ;  "  nevertheless  I  live,  yet  not  I,  but 
Christ  liveth  in  me,  and  the  life  which  I  now  live  in 
the  flesh  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who 
loved  me  and  gave  Himself  for  me." 

There  is  great  force  in  the  frequent  expression  of 
Paul,  as  descriptive  of  the  believer's  relation  to  Christ. 
He  is  said  to  be  in  Christ.  So  Christ  is  said  to  be  in 
him.  The  believer  is  said  to  be  Christ's  —  so  Christ 
is  said  to  be  his.  This  intercommunion  and  mutual 
property  are  the  terms  of  a  close  union  and  friendship, 
which  sinks  out  of  sight  all  contradiction  in  purpose, 
and  all  inharmonious  feeling.  It  is  a  melting  and 
fusing  of  all  the  passions  and  powers  of  the  soul  into 
one.  It  is  no  longer  I  that  live,  but  Christ  lives  in 
me ;  and  then  the  soul  desires  to  know  nothing  but 
Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified,  and  to  proclaim  no 
other  salvation  but  that  by  the  cross,  and  to  hold  up 
no  other  redemption  but  that  by  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb.  Then  the  feeble  heart  craves  no  support  but 
Christ  strengthening  it.  Then  the  pressure  of  duty 
calls  for  no  other  helper  but  Christ  working  in  us. 
Then  the  hour  of  tribulation  demands  no  other  com- 
forter than  Christ  making  his  abode  with  us. 

It  is  this  possession  of  Christ  as  the  soul's  life,  and 
this  being  possessed  by  Him  which  emphatically  con- 
stitutes a  minister  of  Christ.  It  is  a  relation  founded 
exclusively  upon  that  spiritual  regeneration  which 
attends  the  casting  off  all  dependence  upon  self,  and 
coming  in  abasement  and  sorrow  to  the  foot  of  the 
cross,  there  to  realize  and  receive  Jesus  as  Prince  and 


58  The  Ministry  zve  need. 

Saviour.  As  there  is  no  other  door  but  this  into  the 
heart  of  Christ,  and  the  present  anticipation  of  the 
joys  of  heaven,  so  there  is  no  other  way  into  the 
ministry  of  Christ.  All  short  of  this  must  be  defective 
in  the  warmth  and  glow  which  the  sight  of  Christ 
kindles,  and  must  lack  that  personal  inspiration  which 
is  heartier,  more  fervent  and  effectual  than  any  con- 
viction. While  to  the  consciousness  it  is  always  a 
living  truth,  that  Jesus  is  eternal  life ;  while  the  heart 
in  its  intensest  gratitude  thirsts  to  honor  Christ  as  its 
hope ;  while  the  infinite  yearnings  of  the  soul  are 
daily  satisfied  in  Christ,  —  the  bread  which  cometh 
down  from  heaven,  —  there  will  always  be  motive  and 
inspiration  and-  earnest  persuasion  on  the  part  of  a 
minister.  While  his  faith  is  firm,  his  strength  will  be 
firm.  The  fluctuations  of  opinion,  the  conflicts  of 
schools,  the  attractions  of  culture,  and  the  dogmas  of 
science,  cannot  touch  this  bond,  which  holds  him  to 
the  heart  of  the  Infinite  One. 

Such  a  personal  consciousness  in  respect  to  Christ, 
and  such  reliance  upon  Him,  will  prove  an  antidote 
against  the  speculations,  which  are  warily  working  to 
destroy  all  personality  in  the  divine  being,  and,  in  a 
narrower  sphere,  to  reduce  all  religion  to  the  exact 
.  discharge  of  relative  duty.  Duty  without  devotion 
must  always  be  cold.  Ambition  is  passionate.  The 
love  of  the  world  burns  to  a  frenzy.  And  it  is  hardly 
possible  to  conceive  of  a  force  sufficiently  inspiring 
to  sustain  the  arduous  pressure  in  the  service  of 
truth  against  error  and  sin,  excepting  one  that  carries 


Faith  in  Christ  and  the  Promises.         59 

with  it  the  indescribable  charm  and  fascination  of  a 
personal  affection.  The  profoundest  divine  wisdom 
is  manifested  in  making  the  Son  of  man  the  captain 
of  our  salvation. 

It  is  the  host  under  this  leadership  which  is  to 
conquer  the  world.  It  is  his  name,  proclaimed  by 
■faith  in  it,  that  is  to  make  the  soul-sick  whole.  It  is 
to  the  name  of  Jesus  that  every  knee  is  to  bow.  It 
is  to  the  love  of  Jesus  that  every  harp  in  heaven  is 
to  be  strung.  It  is  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  that  every 
crown  is  to  be  cast.  It  is  into  the  likeness  of  Jesus 
that  every  redeemed  soul  is  to  be  transformed. 

Equally  true  is  it  that  all  who  are  to  be  the  heralds 
of  salvation,  in  their  work  are  to  be  inspired  by  the 
indwelling  Christ,  and  to  go  forth,  not  only  in  his 
name  to  speak  his  words,  but  moved  and  animated 
by  his  Spirit,  to  do  his  will.  All  other  motives  failing  -, 
all  earthly  hopes  disappointed  j  all  earthly  friends 
forsaking ;  earthly  goods  taken  away  ;  even  life  in 
jeopardy  ;  this  is  still  sufficient.  "  I  can  do  all  things 
through  Christ  which  strengtheneth  me."  Of  all  the 
spiritual  forces  animating  men,  this  of  Christ  in  us, 
working  both  to  will  and  to  do,  is  at  once  the  loftiest' 
and  most  penetrated  by  self- abasing  feelings ;  the 
purest  and  yet  the  most  persistent.  Though  it  may 
resemble  the  intense  passion  of  soldiers  for  a  mili- 
tary hero,  the  burning  enthusiasm  of  revolutionary 
partisans  for  a  trusted  chief,  the  fervor  and  faith  with 
which  crowds  press  after  daring  adventurers,  it  is  a 
rarer  virtue  than  these,  and  holds  the  heart  by  a  more 


6o  The  Ministry  zve  need. 

profound  and  steadier  affection.  For  although  self- 
ishness may  not  in  this  life  ever  be  purged  out  en- 
tirely, in  no  way  is  it  so  nearly  overcome  as  by  the 
ascendancy  of  love  to  Christ,  at  once  expelling  every 
evil  propensity,  and  exalting  every  pure  disposition. 

With  such  an  inspiration  it  is  more  easily  under- 
stood how  the  handful  of  despised  disciples  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  Christian  Church,  amid  perils  and 
hardships,  and  at  the  risk  of  life ;  how  the  martyrs 
resisted  the  frowns  of  despotic  hatred,  in  sight  of  the 
fires ;  and  how,  in  these  later  days,  ministers  and 
missionaries  have  patiently,  and  without  fainting, 
preached  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified,  in  spite  of 
sufferings  and  losses. 

But  there  is  still  another  element  not  to  be  over- 
looked. While  Christ  is  with  his  servants,  to  uphold 
and  cheer  them  by  his  Spirit,  he  holds  out  to  them 
encouragement  in  the  future.  There  is  a  recompense 
of  reward.  This,  in  the  main,  looks  to  the  final  set- 
tlement.    The  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire. 

If  this  be  true  of  all  lower  worldly  toil,  much  more 
is  it  true  of  the  higher;  for  God  is  not  a  hard  master. 
If  there  is  some  severity,  and  much  burden  in  the 
service,  the  reward  is  commensurate.  Even  here 
fidelity  finds  alleviating  renumerations.  The  fruit 
gathered  year  by  year  ;  extraordinary  spiritual  har- 
vests \  the  growth  of  purity,  meekness,  faith,  and  char- 
ity m  the  church  ;  the  visible  enlargement  of  the  do- 
minion of  righteousness ;  the  increase  and  greater 
skillfulness  of  Christian  activity ;  the  higher  tone  of 


Faith  in  Christ  and  the  Promises.        6i 

morals ;  the  advancing  type  of  civilization ;  the  im- 
proved social  condition,  and  the  wider  acknowledg- 
ment of  Christian  principle  in  national  life ;  the 
consciousness  of  doing  something  in  all  these  benign 
movements  for  man,  and  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  is 
a  satisfaction  of  no  ordinary  moment.  To  be  allowed 
of  God  to  bring  one  soul  to  Christ  is  a  priceless 
recompense.  To  be  constituted  a  leader  in  the  ap- 
pointed way,  of  making  known  the  truth ;  to  be 
associated  with  all  the  godly  in  diminishing  evil  and 
increasing  goodness ;  to  be  a  builder  together  with 
God  on  the  walls  of  the  temple,  the  top-stone  of 
which  shall  be  laid  with  shoutings  of  grace  unto  it ; 
this  brings  a  revenue  of  pleasure,  in  the  very  days  of 
the  service,  such  as  is  looked  for  in  vain  in  other 
avocations.  So  that  the  ministers  of  Christ  are  well 
provided  with  alleviations  and  joys  by  the  way. 
These  serve  to  mitigate  the  irksomeness,  and  smooth 
the  roughnesses,  so  much  insisted  upon  as  inseparable 
from  this  service. 

The  fullness  of  the  promise  is  the  joy  at  the  end  of 
the  day.  It  may  be  briefly  stated  as  entering  into 
the  joy  of  the  Lord.  This  is  held  out  to  every 
laborer  in  the  vineyard.  Not  only  shall  his  toil  yield 
fruit  in  the  blessedness  of  others,  but  he  himself  shall 
be  made  the  recipient  of  the  highest  exaltation. 
For  the  joy  into  which  the  faithful  servant  is  admit- 
ted, is  the  joy  of  his  Lord.  It  is  written  that  Christ 
shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  ,and  be  satisfied. 
This  soul-travail  is  that  unknown  anguish  of  spirit  in 


62  The  Ministry  zve  need, 

which  He  agonized  for  the  salvation  of  the  world.  Its 
end  is  all  the  glory  of  the  redeemed  in  the  heavenly 
kingdom,  and  all  the  glory  of  God  in  the  sight  of  the 
universe,  when  the  vast  plan  of  love  and  mercy  is 
fully  accomplished.  So  far  as  revelation  helps  our 
obscure  vision,  we  are  justified  in  considering  the 
most  ravishing,  and  the  sweetest  of  all  the  pleasures 
around  the  throne  of  God,  to  be  those  exultations 
and  spontaneous  utterances,  which  express  gratitude 
and  praise  for  salvation  by  Christ.  This  is  preemi- 
nently the  consummation,  the  fullness  of  joy,  the 
mutual  satisfaction  and  united  blessedne;3S  of  the 
Redeemer  and  his  saints. 

To  claim  any  participation,  either  in  the  antece- 
dent work,  or  in  the  following  glory,  would  be  bold 
and  guilty  presumption,  were  it  not  actually  the 
declared  way  of  the  goodness  and  condescension  of 
God.  Even  so  God  teaches  ;  and  even  so  may  those, 
who  are  in  themselves  utterly  unworthy,  be  permitted 
to  hope.  "Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will 
give  thee  a  crown  of  life."  If  a  cup  of  cold  water 
will  not  lose  its  reward,  God,  surely,  will  not  pass  by 
those,  in  the  retributions  of  eternity,  who  have  borne 
the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day.  Every  form  and 
degree  of  service  will  be  equitably  considered.  To 
fidelity  will  be  meted  out  its  due  portion  ;  and  those 
that  turn  many  to  righteousness  will  shine  as  the 
stars  for  ever  and  ever.  They  will  be  priests  unto 
God  and  the  Lamb. 

Thus  to  share  with  Christ  in  the  final  glory  of  his 


Faith  in  Christ  and  the  Promises.        63 

kingdom,  is  in  itself  sufficient ;  it  is  more  than  suf- 
ficient. No  known  degree  and  sharpness  of  suffering, 
which  the  preachers,  defenders,  and  confessors  of  the 
trutli  have  endured,  are  of  any  weight  whatever  in 
the  comparison.  Surely  it  is  enough  to  have  Christ 
the  cheerful  sustainer  and  strength,  the  present  joy  of 
the  heart,  and  to  be  with  Him  in  his  glory  when  the 
end  comes. 

To  know  assuredly  that  Christ  accepts  the  service  ; 
that  He  owns  it  as  done  for  Him  ;  that  in  the  heavenly 
distribution  it  will  find  its  acknowledgment ;  will  not 
this  obliterate  every  thought  of  pain,  even  though  it 
be  the  pain  of  martyrdom,  or  what  is  heavier,  the 
life-long  struggle  for  Christ  against  a  cold,  relentless, 
and  unbelieving  world  ? 

If  these  things  are  the  true  tone  of  the  encourage- 
ment, and  the  real  substance  of  the  recompense  of 
reward,  does  it  not  seem  almost  a  profanation,  at  least 
a  puerility,  to  descend  from  them  to  weigh  and 
measure  earthly  emoluments,  and  to  take  the  dimen- 
sions of  popular  favor,  and  gauge  the  dignity  of 
social  positions  "i  It  is  hot  to  be  denied  that,  as  a 
worldly  occupation,  the  ministry  is  a  vocation  to  be 
treated  as  other  avocations  are,  and  to  be  paid  for  as 
they  are.  And  yet  there  is  this  essential  difference. 
Ordinary  engagements  have,  for  their  chief  end, 
something  temporal  in  their  nature.  They  "aim 
mainly  at  a  present  good.  They  have  a  fixed  com- 
mercial value.  They  are  the  means  and  avenues  to 
worldly  wealth,  power,  or  pleasure.     But  the  ministry 


64  The  Ministry  we  need. 

has  a  scope  ranging  beyond  time,  and  involving,  as 
its  distinctive  good,  tlie  blessedness  of  the  soul  in 
eternity.  It  cannot,  without  profanation,  be  made 
chiefly,  or  in  any  marked  degree,  the  avenue  to 
wealth,  reputation,  or  worldly  honor.  He  that 
preacheth  the  gospel  should  live  by  the  gospel.  But 
this  is  incidental.  It  is  the  care  of  the  churches  to 
provide  reasonable  support,  and  not  the  chief  design 
of  the  minister  to  procure  compensation.  To  make 
preaching  the  instrument  of  acquiring  riches  is  de- 
grading the  calling.  It  is  polluting  the  service  of 
Christ.  Most  certainly  no  one  can  be  a  true  soldier 
of  the  cross  who  enters  the  ministry  with  the  ques- 
tions uppermost:  How  much  worldly  good  can  I 
acquire.?  how  much  personal  comfort  can  I  secure? 
how  much  consideration  can  I  gain  ?  how  can  I 
make  my  life  pass  most  easily  ?  These  are  the 
elements  of  self-seeking,  and  these  are  the  rewards 
of  secular  toil  and  ambition.  Christ  pleased  not 
Himself.  He  laid  down  his  life  for  the  sheep ;  and 
He  calls  his  shepherds  to  imitate  Him  in  caring  for 
the  flock,  and  not  for  themselves.  ^'  Feed  my  sheep. 
Feed  my  lambs."  If  any  are  stumbled  by  the  low- 
liness of  the  calling  ;  or  are  afraid  of  the  hardness  of 
the  way ;  or  covetous  of  greater  honor  or  riches  than 
Christ  ofl"ers,  they  have  need  of  seeking  again  what 
are  the  first  principles  of  this  service  ;  that  it  is  a  self- 
denying,  unworldly  service,  is  its  glory  and  crown.  Its 
elevation,  its  honor,  is  its  union  with  Christ,  participa- 
tion with  Him  in  the  tribulation  and  toil,  and  also  in 


FaitJi  in  Christ  and  the  Promises.        65 

the  final  triumph.  Be  it  so,  that  Christ's  ministers 
are  often  poor ;  often  overburdened  ;  often  in  con- 
flict j  often  in  peril,  —  was  it  not  so  with  the  Master  ? 
Be  it  so,  that  Christ's  ministers  are  often  despised, 
looked  down  upon,  and  made  to  endure  the  keenness 
of  neglect,  —  was  it  not  so  with  the  Master  ?  It  is 
enough  for  the  disciple  that  he  be  as  his  Master, 
and  the  servant  as  his  Lord.  The  cause  is  too  great ; 
the  issue  too  momentous ;  the  blessings  in  prospect 
too  immeasurable ;  the  exaltation  following  too 
glorious,  to  allow  a  check  and  stay  from  the  transi- 
tory inconveniences  of  time.  Christ  Himself  is  a 
present  joy,  and  his  joy  is  present  strength  for  his 
servants ;  and  the  hereafter,  who  shall  attempt  to  tell 
the  wonders  of  love,  the  exhaustless  flow  of  pleasures 
which  are  at  God's  right  hand  ?  Will  not  that  vision 
be  filled  which  shall  behold  the  King  in  his  glory  ? 
Will  not  that  heart  be  satisfied  that  will  be  forever 
joined  to  the  Lord,  awaking  by  divine  grace  in  his 
likeness  ? 

These  are  some  of  the  lineaments  and  qualities 
proper  to  the  ministers  of  the  gospel.  They  do  not 
embrace  everything.  They  admit,  as  a  necessity,  all 
the  learning,  the  discipline,  the  trained  skill,  embraced 
in  the  various  forms  of  culture.  Religion  is  an  in- 
telligent service.  The  lips  of  the  priest  should  keep 
knowledge.  The  pastors  after  God's  own  heart  feed 
the  people  with  knowledge  and  understanding. 
Nevertheless,  invaluable  and  indispensable  as  all  the 
helps  of  education  are,  without  the  spiritual   basis, 


66  The  Ministry  we  need. 

heart   preparation,   consecration^  and   sanctification, 
everything  else  is  futile. 

This  age  is  distinguished  for  the  fullness  and 
variety,  for  the  thoroughness,  it  may  be,  and  the 
sufficiency  of  its  courses  of  instruction.  They  are 
admirable,  and  give  just  occasion  for  lively  gratitude. 
But  they  are  no  substitute  for  the  graces  of  the  Spirit, 
and  the  training  of  the  heart  in  Christ-like  virtues. 
Let  there  be  no  diminution  of  the  former  —  for  every 
attainment  is  valuable,  and  adds  its  amount  to 
efficiency  and  endurance.  Beyond  all  these,  let 
there  be,  in  the  fullness  of  a  sustaining  consciousness, 
Christ  in  us  and  we  in  Christ.  This  will  sanctify 
learning,  and  consecrate  intellectual  power.  Without 
this,  literature,  science,  eloquence,  are  unhallowed 
gifts  upon  the  altar.  Let  a  minister  live  and  preach 
under  the  mighty  power  of  the  world  to  come  ;  let 
him  feel  in  his  inmost  heart  the  force  of  that  eternal 
wealth  of  blessedness  laid  up  for  the  faithful ;  let  him 
be  lifted  up  by  the  spirit  of  the  songs  of  redeeming 
love  around  the  throne,  the  notes  of  which  surprise 
us  even  here  ;  let  him  rise  to  the  foretaste  of  that  joy 
which  fills  to  overflowing  the  cup  of  the  ransomed  ; 
let  him  be  swayed  by  the  anticipation  ^of  beholding 
the  final  triumph  of  the  Son  of  God,  when  the  king- 
dom is  delivered  up  to  the  Father,  and  God  is  all  and 
in  all,  all  enemies  being  put  under  his  feet ;  and  He  ^ 
will  have  a  fullness  and  strength  of  encouragement,  an 
inspiration  of  hope,  and  a  consciousness  of  fellowship 
in  the  scheme  of  infinite  goodness,  powerful  enough 


Faith  in  Christ  and  the  Promises.         67 

to  animate  and  sustain  him  in  any  emergency, 
through  which,  in  the  service  of  Christ,  he  may  be 
called  to  pass.  This  is  true  power  —  faith  in  Christ  — 
a  faith  which  lives  and  works  by  love ;  faith  in  the 
future,  as  determined  and  sure  by  the  love  of  God  in 
Christ.  And  of  it,  it  may  be  said,  as  was  said  in 
another  connection,  "  A  drop  of  faith  is  far  more  noble 
than  a  whole  sea  of  mere  science." 

Faith  and  love  are  the  internal  forces  of  a  minister's 
life ;  and  the  objects  and  sources  on  which  they 
depend  are  Christ  and  his  word  of  promise.  Armed 
with  these,  even  in  an  age  so  material,  amid  utter- 
ances of  skepticism  so  bold,  with  the  atmosphere  full 
of  the  giddy  lights  of  human  pride,  and  surrounded 
by  the  insolent  prosperity  of  self-acquired  wealth,  the 
servants  of  Christ  may  be  cheerful,  patient,  and 
hopeful.     They  will  not  lose  their  reward. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


THE    PECULIARITY   OF    THE   TIMES. 


]T  is  often  asserted  that  the  times  are  peculiar, 
and  dem-and  a  peculiar  quality  of  preaching. 
^^  There  is  truth  in  this.  No  two  periods  in  the 
world's  development  are  alike,  any  more  than  youth, 
manhood,  and  old  age  are  alike  in  our  natural  life. 
There  is  a  growth  of  the  race  as  well  as  of  the 
individual.  Forms  of  thought  are  laid  aside.  One 
degree  of  knowledge  gives  place  to  another.  The 
horizon  of  mental  view  widens  as  man  rises  higher. 
Therefore,  what  once  satisfied  his  tastes  and  necessi- 
ties, satisfies  them  no  longer.  If  this  were  not  so, 
there  could  be  no  history  of  the  race.  Life  would 
be  reduced  to  a  dead  level,  and  the  constant  recur- 
rence of  the  same  forms  of  things,  and  the  same  tones 
of  thought,  would  result  in  a  wearisome  monotony. 

Nevertheless,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
changes  are  not  radical,  but  superficial  and  relative. 
The  fruit-bearing  tree  is  constitutionally  the  same 
organization  as  the  young  sapling.  The  man  is 
only  the  boy  grown  up.  The  mankind  of  to-day  is 
the  maturity  of  the  early  race.  Two  things  do  not 
change :  human  nature  and  truth.     Therefore,  if  the 


The  Peculiarity  of  the  Times.  69 

end  of  preaching  is  to  improve,  inspire,  and  control 
the  understanding  and  the  will  by  the  force  of  truth, 
the  question  is  simplified.  It  is  how?  not  what? 
The  material,  truth,  is  ever  the  same ;  but  it  needs  to 
be  presented  with  new  settings,  and  moulded  in 
different  shapes.  The  iron  of  the  mine  is  the  sub- 
stantial strength  of  the  artisan's  tool.  But  experience 
and  skill  enable  the  manufacturer  to  give  it  greater 
fitness,  a  finer  polish,  or  a  sharper  edge.  So  with 
truth:  it  is  ever  strength,  power  —  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit  —  while  it  may  be  fashioned  more  aptly, 
wielded  more  adroitly,  and  applied  more  sagaciously, 
as  a  clearer  understanding  and  more  perfect  disci- 
pline secure  its  better  use. 

Human  nature  does  not  change.  The  range  and 
force  of  desires  change,  the  objects  and  ends  of 
pursuit  are  different  at  different  periods,  and  in 
different  nations.  Beneath  the  ambitions  of  the 
antediluvians,  the  passions  of  the  Greeks,  the  pride 
of  the  Romans,  the  rivalries  of  the  present  day,  and 
the  struggles  for  wealth  and  place  which  engage  the 
actors  before  our  eyes,  there  are  similar  susceptibili- 
ties and  powers^  the  same  elements  of  mind  and 
heart.  The  wool,  the  flax,  and  the  silk,  which 
oriental  art  wove  into  the  clothing  of  peasants,  and 
the  purple  and  fine  linen  of  the  ancient  nobility,  were 
of  like  growth  with  the  material  of  modern  fabrics. 
The  fibre  is  the  same ;  the  texture  differs.  So  the 
poets  and  heroes,  the  prophets  and  devout  men  of 
God,  whose  lives  adorned  the  Jewish  historyj  were 


yo  The  Ministry  we  need. 

men  of  the  same  make  as  ourselves,  and  their  char- 
acters were  fashioned  by  just  such  truth  as  still  sus- 
tains spiritual  life,  vigor,  and  righteousness. 

There  is,  then,  no  necessity  to  seek  new  material 
of  truth  from  which  to  forge  the  weapons  of  spiritual 
warfare.  It  will  not  aid  a  minister  to  assume  that 
he  has  different  natures  to  work  upon  from  those 
which  were  renovated  by  the  preaching  of  the  fathers. 
It  is  erroneous  to  affirm  that  men  are  not  such 
as  they  formerly  were.  Radically  and  constitution- 
ally they  are  just  the  same.  The  character  which  is 
to  be  formed  by  the  preacher  is  morally  and  spiritu- 
ally identical  with  that  which  the  Apostles  sought  to 
produce.  The  elements  of  righteousness  have  not 
changed  since  the  law  was  given  on  Sinai.  The 
character  of  God,  who  demands  our  love  and  service, 
has  not  changed.  Repentance,  faith,  love,  obedience, 
are  immutable.  David,  Paul,  and  Jonathan  Edwards 
were  saints  by  one  spiritual  process,  and  the  exercise 
of  like  holy  affections. 

Misconceptions  are  common  on  this  subject.  It  is 
too  often  taken  for  granted  that  piety  in  ancient  days 
was  a  different  attainment  from  piety  now ;  that  the 
principles  of  a  godly  life  have  altered  with  the  change 
of  circumstances.  It  is  even  represented  and  believed, 
that  the  God  of  the  Old  Testament  was  a  different 
being  from  the  God  of  the  New,  and  to  be  differently 
worshipped  and  served.  The  terrors  of  Jehovah  are 
sometimes  depicted  in  such  colors  that  compassion 
seems  hardly  to  sbe  an  attribute  of  such    a  Deity. 


The  Peculiarity  of  the  Times.  71 

And  yet  it  was  on  Mount  Sinai,  the  same  mountain 
where  the  thunderings  and  the  lightnings  were  so 
terrible,  that  God  proclaimed  himself  the  ''  Lord,  the 
Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffering,  and 
abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping  mercy  for 
thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  and  transgression,  and 
sin." 

Such  has  ever  been  the  divine  mind,  and  the  work 
of  God  has  always  been  one,  to  turn  men  from  sin, 
that  they  might  obtain  pardon,  and  become  the 
dutiful  and  loving  children  of  our  heavenly  Father. 
Sin  has  not  altered  its  character,  and  mercy  has  ever 
been  extended  to  those  who  have  confessed  and 
forsaken  their  sins.  The  graces  of  a  holy  life,  in  the 
ancient  and  in  the  modern  church,  have  been  the 
sanctified  affections  of  similar  hearts,  and  the  persua- 
sion of  prophets,  apostles,  and  modern  preachers  has 
been  addressed  to  men  of  one  mould  and  make. 

If  then,  the  truth  of  God  is  the  same  from  age  to 
age,  and  human  nature  does  not  change ;  and  if  the 
end  sought  is  the  regeneration  and  reconstruction 
of  human  nature  in  its  purity,  by  the  truth ;  the 
preeminent  object  will  be  to  determine  how  to  adapt 
the  truth  to  existing  conditions  and  necessities.  This 
is  the  principal  point  in  which  the  character  of  the 
times  bears  upon  the  character  of  preaching.  Preach- 
ing is  to  adopt  the  style  and  tone  of  expression  of 
the  age  j  to  use  forms  of  thought  in  harmony  with 
existing  methods;. to  conform  to  prevalent  ideas 
of  taste  and  culture  \  and  to  be,  in  all  its  dress  and 


^2  The  Ministry  we  need. 

habit,  a  thing  of  to-day.  By  no  means  should  the 
preacher  chill  and  ex-animate  the  trutli  by  casting  it 
in  the  worn-out  moulds  of  other  days.  It  is  as  un- 
wise to  insist  upon  composing  a  sermon  after  the 
pattern  of  the  homilies  of  Chrysostom,  as  it  would  be 
to  insist  upon  arraying  ourselves  in  the  garments  of 
the  Apostles.  Truth,  though  in  itself  immutable, 
comes  into  new  relations.  Life,  with  unchanging 
moral  elements,  is  presented  under  new  conditions. 
Manners,  customs,  modes  of  speech  are  ever  varying. 
The  substance  of  a  temptation  is  always  the  same, 
while  the  art  of  the  tempter  is  as  manifold  as  the 
phases  of- life.  In  this  lies  the  difficulty  of  the 
preacher's  task.  He  must  adapt  his  method  to 
existing  conditions  and  tastes  of  society  ;  fit  his  warn- 
ing to  present  temptatioqs  ;  admonish  men  of  sins  to 
which  they  are  exposed ;  defend  and  promote  living 
interests  and  issues ;  and  urge  such  duties,  and 
according  to  such  rules  as  are  of  daily  requirement. 
John  Knox  and  John  Howe  were  earnest  and  power- 
ful preachers — great  lights  in  their  age.  But  it 
would  be  a  solecism,  because  an  anachronism,  to 
insist  upon  doing  the  urgent  work  of  our  times  by 
reproducing  the  bold,  impassioned  utterances  of  the 
one,  or  the  stately,  exhaustive  discussions  of  the 
other.  As  well  might  statesmen  and  lawyers  read 
the  sjieeches  of  Demosthenes,  or  the  arguments  of 
Cicero,  to  gain  their  causes  in  the  senate  chamber  or 
the  court-room.  All  that  is  reqwired,  in  what  is  so 
much  talked  of,  in  respect  to  the  peculiarity  of  the 


The  Pecidiarity  of  the  Times.  73 

age,  is  found  in  the  exercise  of  good  common  sense. 
The  truth  is  given.  The  object  to  be  gained  is  very 
plain.  Let  the  most  simple  and  effective  measures 
be  adopted  to  bring  living,  appreciable  truth  into  the 
warmest  contact  with  living,  throbbing  hearts.  That 
is  the  sum  of  it.  These  considerations  do  not  infringe 
upon  the  substance  of  a  minister's  work,  or  in  any 
wise  conflict  with  its  essential  spirit.  No  less  fervor 
or  zeal,  no  less  love  and  faith,  no  less  self-denial  and 
devotion,  no  less  patience  and  endurance,  are  requisite 
in  one  age  than  in  another.  If  it  were  possible  to 
possess  all  the  prophetic  fire  and  the  apostolic 
inspiration,  they  would  not  exceed  the  demands  of 
the  service.  If  St.  Bernard  were  to  arise  to  preach  a 
new  crusade,  although  he  would  be  obliged  to  alter 
his  mode  of  address,  and  work  upon  the  hearts  of  the 
multitude  by  new  excitants,  he  would  find  no  occasion 
to  abate  a  whit  of  that  saintly  fervor  by  which  he  set 
all  Europe  in  a  blaze. 

The  inward  heart  of  God's  ministers  in  all  ages 
burns  with  the  same  fire,  and  the  intensity  of  their 
effort  is  for  an  unchanging  object.  Reformers  now 
do  not  need  Luther's  harness  with  which  to  go  into 
the  fight,  but  they  do  need  an  equally  absorbing 
devotion  to  Christ  and  as  courageous  a  faith.  There 
is  no  foundation  for  the  assumption  that  the  work  of 
God  is  widely  diverse  now  from  what  it  has  been  in 
other  times.  It  must  be  in  its  fundamental  qualities, 
and  in  its  aims,  the  same,  or  else  the  kingdom  of  God 
is  itself  different,  and  the  moral  principles  of  God's 


74  The  Ministry  we  need. 

government  are  different.  This  is  not  so.  "  There 
are  differences  of  administrations,  but  the  same  Lord. 
There  are  diversities  of  operations,  but  it  is  the  same 
God  which  worketh  all  in  all.  One  Lord,  one  faith, 
one  baptism,  one  God,  and  Father  of  all,  who  is 
above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  you  all." 

How  unlike  in  intellectual  gifts  and  in  methods 
were  Paul  and  John,  and  yet  what  positive  harmony 
in  the  tone  of  their  love,  in  the  object  of  their  desire, 
and  in  the  victory  for  which  they  contended.  White- 
field  and  John  Wesley  stand  in  modern  times  among 
the  brightest  lights  in  evangelical  history.  With 
intensity  and  fervor,  with  self-denial  and  laborious- 
ness,  with  earnestness  and  perseverance  beyond  all 
praise,  they  urged  the  necessity  of  salvation  by  the 
cross  of  Christ  alone.  They  preached  with  all  bold- 
ness the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  as  the  one  hope 
of  life,  and  yet  they  were  not  altogether  in  agreement 
as  to  the  means  and  methods  to  be  used.  One  clung 
pertinaciously  to  the  Calvinistic  form  of  doctrine, 
and  the  other  as  tenaciously  adhered  to  the  looser 
Arminian.  They  had  no  antagonism  of  purpose. 
It  was  a  difference  of  understanding  in  regard  to 
what  the  ends  of  the  kingdom  of  righteousness  and 
peace  required. 

To  be  of  like  spirit  with  the  holy  men  of  all 
ages,  to  be  inflamed  with  the  same  love,  to  be 
animated  with  loyalty  to  the  one  Lord,  and  to  strive 
to  fill  up  the  company  who  will  in  the  end  unite  in 
ascribing  salvation  to  Him,  these  are  the  harmonies 


The  Pcculiaj'ity  of  the  Times.  75 

that  distinguish  all  the  servants  of  Christ  whenever 
and  wherever  they  serve  Him,  The  contrasts  and 
disparities  are  only  changes  on  the  outer  surface, 
differences  of  administration,  and  not  of  substance  or 
of  spirit. 

The  only  question  of  practical  moment  is  how  the 
minister  shall  adapt  his  method  so  as  to  do  the  work 
to  which  in  his  day  he  is  called.  He  is  to  look 
mainly  to  the  end  for  which  the  truth  is  given.  If 
by  it  man  is  to  be  elevated  to  a  higher  plane  of 
spiritual  life,  brought  near  to  God  in  faith,  love,  and 
service,  and  prepared  for  the  felicity  of  the  divine 
presence,  it  is  a  felony  to  descend  from  this  high  and 
holy  discipline  merely  to  gratify  the  vicious  caprices 
of  the  times,  and  please  the  lower  sentiments  which 
chance  to  crave  indulgence.  Variety  and  conformity 
are  valuable  only  just  so  far  as  they  are  means  and 
instruments  for  the  better  security  of  the  great  object. 
Food  has  its  worth  in  the  supply  it  furnishes  to  a 
bodily  necessity.  The  way  of  dressing  it,  and  the 
ceremonies  in  serving  it,  are  incidental,  and  of  little 
consequence  beyond  the  part  they  play  in  stimulating 
the  appetite  so  that  the  nutriment  shall  be  received. 
The  displays  at  a  feast  are  tantalizing  and  pernicious 
if  the  guests  are  not  nourished.  And  so  the  admin- 
istration of  truth,  if  it  does  riot  feed  the  hungry 
soul  and  bring  water  to  the  thirsty,  and  so  strengthen 
for  the  conflict  and  duty  of  life,  and  for  the  glorious 
destiny  foreshadowed  in  revelation,  is  absurd  and 
abortive,  whatever  may  be  its  beauty  and  polish,  the 


76  The  Ministry  we  need. 

charms  with   which  it  is  invested,   or    the    art   and 
eloquence  with  which  it  is  uttered. 

The  downright  earnestness  of  a  heart  glowing  with 
zeal  for  God  and  love  to  man  will  scarcely  fail  to  use 
truth  powerfully,  though  often  its  methods  may  be 
defective.  The  single  aim  to  force  an  entrance  for 
the  truth  through  all  obstructions  to  the  very  citadel, 
or  to  insinuate  it  by  every  honest  art  of  persuasion, 
will  generally  succeed.  The  intense  desire  and  the 
strong  will  are  inventive,  and  they  will  ordinarily 
strike  out  practicable  paths  so  as  to  go  straight  on  to 
the  mark.  Under  the  inspiration  of  such  a  spirit, 
the  adaptation  will  be  quite  sure  to  be  readily 
found. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


THE    INTELLECTUAL    ACTIVITY    OF    THE    AGE. 


HE  great  mental  activity  of  the  age  is 
reckoned  adverse  to  the  successful  and 
agreeable  pursuit  of  the  preacher's  calling. 
Whether  it  be  so  or  not  depends  upon  the  light 
in  which  it  is  viewed,  and  the  attitude  which  is  taken 
towards  it.  The  strong  tendency  of  thought  towards 
particular  subjects  is  liable  to  amount  to  preoccupa- 
tion of  the  mind,  and  its  absolute  engrossment  to  the 
exclusion  of  other  things.  A  competition  and  rivalry 
are  excited,  enthusiasm  is  kindled,  devotion  becomes 
ardent,  the  value  of  the  object  and  kindred  ones  is 
exaggerated,  arid  other  fields  of  thought  are  treated 
with  comparative  disregard. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  just  now  there  is  an 
extraordinary  devotion  to  the  natural  sciences,  and  to 
the  determination  of  useful  results  in  the  applications 
of  science.  So  rapid  and  startling  is  the  accumula- 
tion of  facts,  and  so  bold  and  aggressive  are  the 
theories  advanced,  that  science,  instead  of  imparting 
the  most  settled  and  trustworthy  knowledge,  which  is 
its  true  mission,  seems  to  be  flooding  the  world  with 
corruscations  which  dazzle  where  they  should  illum- 
inate, and  fascinate  where  they  ought  to  instruct. 


yS  The  Ministry  we  need. 

The  process  in  this,  as  in  other  departments  of 
thought,  is  rather  revolutionary  than  constructive,  — 
preparatory  to  results  rather  than  formative.  On  all 
sides  there  is  thinking,  questioning,  investigating, 
challenging  old  opinions,  disturbing  received  theories 
and  methods,  a  seeming  demand  for  first  principles 
and  axioms  in  all  the  realm  of  knowledge. 

In  reference  to  such  a  condition,  two  things  are  to 
be  observed.  First,  That  a  state  of  activity  and 
agitation  is  to  a  resolute  mind  to  be  preferred  to  a 
condition  of  torpor,  and  an  unquestioning  submission 
to  tradition  and  authority.  No  condition  is  more 
hopeless  than  the  lethargy  of  mind  which  sleepily 
accepts  things  as  they  are,  happy  to  be  relieved  of 
the  necessity  of  summoning  the  moral  sense  to  a 
decision  upon  their  rightness  or  wrongness.  The 
apathy  and  congealed  immobility  of  a  people  where 
worship  is  a  sacred  tradition,  and  the  creed  a  never 
to  be  questioned  symbol  of  the  true  faith,  is  as 
hostile  to  all  endeavors  in  promoting'  religion  as  the 
sullen  and  stupid  inertia  of  barbarism.  Where  the 
mental  activity  of  society  is  limited  to  the  mainte- 
nance of  a  fixed  circle  of  opinions  in  politics  and 
education,  and  to  a  servile  repetition  of  antiquated 
processes  in  the  arts  and  industries  of  life,  innova- 
tions of  all  sorts  are  resisted,  and  the  force  of 
religious  truth  is  neutralized  by  the  hereditary  control 
of  established  ideas.  Not  so  where  thought  is  free, 
and  the  mind  of  the  community  is  roused  and  on  the 
alert.     A  calm   sea,  ruffled  by  no  breeze,  not  only 


The  httellectiial  Activity  of  the  Age.      y^j 

leaves  the  sails  of  commerce  hanging  hstlessly  by  ih'^ 
mast,  but  fills  itself  with  broods  of  disgusting  living 
creatures.  The  wind  that  raises  the  waves  not  only 
speeds  the  mariner  on  his  voyage,  but  brings  health 
and  purity  on  its  wings. 

The  motion  of  the  mind  involves  inquisitiveness, 
sensitiveness,  and  susceptibility.  Break  up  the  old 
fallows,  and  the  scattered  seed  will  root  and  grow. 
Break  up  old  traditions,  and  there  is  room  for  new 
thought.  Something  good  may  be  disturbed  by  the 
agitation,  but  possibly  more  that  is  bad  —  the  despotic, 
the  conventional,  the  hereditary  fallacies.  The  com- 
motion loosens  the  hold  of  evil,  because  it  loosens 
everything.  The  innovation  challenges  the  good, 
because  it  challenges  everything.  In  the  crucible 
prejudices  melt  off,  but  truth  stands  the  fire.  Conceits 
that  have  deceived  vanish  in  the  heat,  but  principles 
come  out,  like  gold  from  the  furnace,  all  the  brighter 
for  the  trial. 

In  times  when  the  mind  of  the  community  is 
awakened  to  inquire  and  investigate,  and  is  stimu- 
lated to  more  and  more  various  thinking,  its 
receptivity,  its  docility,  and  its  power  of  assimilation 
are  in  a  favorable  condition  to  be  strengthened. 
While  the  mass  of  disengaged  elements  is  convulsed 
and  clashing,  then  is  precisely  the  time  to  effect  new 
combinations  by  such  forces  as  will  reassort  the 
disturbed  particles  according  to  their  true  affinities. 
Truth  needs  but  to  assert  itself  wisely  and  firmly  at 
such  periods  to  secure  a  hearing.     It  needs  to  be 


8o  The  Ministry  we  7teed. 

uttered,  not  with  human  authority,  nor  with  the  pride 
of  exulting  science,  but  with  that  power  inherent 
in  humility  when  the  reverent  mind  is  itself  standing 
in  awe,  and  proclaims  the  eternal  Word,  in  its  own 
name,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Almighty. 

Such  periods  are  seed  times.  They  stand  in 
history  as  formative  periods.  They  are  not  to  be 
deprecated  or  dreaded,  but  to  be  used.  If  any  one 
asks  for  an  illustration,  let  him  read  the  history  of 
New  England  for  the  fifteen  years  preceding  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  he  will  see  how 
the  convulsions  of  the  times  led  to  discussions  and 
deep  searchings  after  political  principles  and  the 
foundations  of  civil  rights,  from  which  sprung  the  first 
of  great  republics.  He  will  see  that  against  the 
warm  currents  of  affection,  and  the  cherished  loyalty 
towards  the  institutions  of  Old  England,  the  force  of 
reason  and  the  tide  of  argument  carried  the  people 
away  from  their  moorings,  and  brought  them  happily 
and  unitedly  to  settle  under  new  and  better  auspices. 
Few,  if  any,  parallels  can  be  adduced  presenting  a 
more  general  and  profound  thoughtfulness,  on  topics 
of  public  welfare,  both  moral  and  civil,  than  this  ; 
and  the  excitements  which  provoked  conflicts  of 
opinion  were  really  the  occasions  which  made  the 
great  political  enfranchisement  possible.  So  that  it 
is  not  to  be  at  all  concluded  that  an  age  like  this, 
when  the  public  mind  is  all  astir,  and  the  fervor  of 
thought  seems  almost  to  reach  a  self-impelled  frenzy^ 


The  IiitellecUcal  Activity  of  the  Age.      8 1 

is  a  season  unfavorable  to  the  demands  and  the 
determinations  of  truth.  The  aspect  may  be,  at  the 
first  glance,  forbidding.  A  closer  inspection  renders 
it  inviting.  Secondly^  It  is  palpable  that  religious 
truth  in  the  midst  of  apparently  adverse  excitement  is 
receiving,  and  must  receive,  more  than  ordinary 
attention.  Every  discussion  of  the  day  touches 
somewhere  upon  that  circle  which  incloses  religious 
ideas.  Whatever  the  intention  or  desire  may  be, 
religion  cannot  be  kept  out  of  public  discussion.  It 
forces  itself  upon  the  attention  everywhere.  Those 
who  assume  the  boldest  hostility  to  it  are  unceasingly 
mingling  it  in  their  conversations  and  their  writings. 
Speculations,  assertions,  inquiries,  and  denials  abound 
in  all  the  current  literature.  Pamphlets,  magazines, 
and  the  daily  press  reflect  the  tone  and  temper  of 
the  times,  and  constantly  contain  references  to  the 
great  questions  properly  belonging  to  the  domain  of 
theology.  The  necessity  has  gone  by  which  once 
compelled  religious  men  to  call  public  attention  to 
these  topics.  They  are  now  either  for  disputation, 
for  criticism,  for  condemnation,  for  comparison,  or  for 
inculcation  among  the  most  common  themes.  The 
leading  minds  —  the  so-called  "  foremost  thinkers  "  — 
are  by  a  sort  of  necessity  drawn  into  this  sphere  of 
thought,  and  think  they  must ;  and  they  do  not  fail 
to  give  utterance  to  their  thoughts ;  not  indeed 
because  this  is  peculiarly  a  believing  age  \  not  indeed 
because  it  is  devout  and  reverential,  but  rather  that 


82  The  Ministry  we  need. 

it  is  a  time  when  the  authority  of  the  past,  the 
influence  of  great  names,  and  even  credence  in  the 
Word  of  God,  are  sensibly  shaken. 

This  unsettling"  of  foundations,  and  discrediting  of 
trusted  opinions,  is  itself  a  cause  of  restlessness. 
The  mind  has  its  laws  as  well  as  matter.  There  is 
an  equilibrium  in  the  one  as  well  as  in  the  other, 
depending  on  fixed  conditions.  Disturb  the  mental 
condition  and  rest  is  destroyed  ;  and  by  the  inherent 
instincts  of  our  nature  there  must  be  an  effort  to 
regain  the  repose.  Whatever  may  be  the  infidelity 
and  cold  irreligiousness  of  the  world,  there  is  that  in 
the  soul  of  man  which  yearns  after  something  which 
can  only  be  satisfied  by  the  knowledge  of  God. 
Give  the  soul  liberty  from  the  oppression  of  false 
restraints,  and  it  will  as  surely  struggle  towards  this 
summit  as  water,  when  free  to  obey  its  law,  will  rise 
to  the  height  of  the  fountain. 

There  are  dangers  connected  with  such  revolutions, 
but  there  is  a  promise  in  them  as  well.  When  society 
swings  loose  from  the  authority  of  revered  opinions, 
it  is  uncertain  where  it  may  settle,  and  also  uncertain 
what  trustworthy  bulwarks  may  be  leveled  in  the 
movement.  But  this  is  true :  that  so  far  as  the  mind 
has  been  released  from  servile  or  superstitious 
reliance  upon  authority,  upon  tradition,  upon  the 
unintelligent  conformity  to  mere  dogmas,  it  is  in  a 
more  healthful  state  for  the  reception  of  knowledge 
and  belief  of  the  truth,  which  frames  the  life  in  godli- 


The  Intellectual  Activity  of  the  Age.      83 

ness.  Manifold  mischiefs  may  indeed  be  brewing  in 
this  fermentation  of  the  public  mind ;  but  at  all 
events  there  is  wakefulness,  inquiry,  impressibility. 
Any  earnest  thinker  and  warm-hearted  advocate  can 
get  a  hearing.  All  ears  are  open ;  all  eyes  are 
straining.  There  are  wonders  in  the  heavens  above, 
and  in  the  earth  beneath,  and  in  the  waters  that  are 
under  the  earth.  In  the  whirl  and  displacement, 
effects  may  be  severed  from  their  causes ;  and  on  the 
other  side,  those  things  may  be  joined  which  have  no 
part  together.  In  such  emergencies,  history  warrants 
the  belief  that  the  readjustment  will  come  if  the 
masters  of  truth  are  faithful  to  their  calling. 

There  is  nothing  so  indestructible  as  truth.  It 
may  be  buried,  it  may  be  obscured,  it  may  be 
restricted  and  hindered,  but  in  all  great  upheavals  the 
perishable  is  lost,  and  the  truth  survives.  No  violent 
onset  has  ever  yet  been  made  upon  religion  which 
did  not  result  in  some  signal  advantage  to  it  and  to  a 
firmer  establishment  of  its  power.  No  reformations 
have  been  complete,  or  have  proceeded  through  any 
long  periods,  because  of  the  easily  wasting  strength 
of  the  friends  of  truth,  and  the  facility  with  which 
they  suffer  her  simplicity  to  be  incumbered  by  selfish 
accretions.  For  a  little  while  the  hosts  fight  hero- 
ically, but  shortly  they  turn  aside  to  quarrel  over 
a  division  of  spoils. 

From  such  views  as  these,  if  they  are  correct,  it 
will  be  seen  that  there  is  no  occasion  for  discourage- 


84  The  Ministry  we  need. 

ment  in  the  current  thought  and  in  the  mental 
activity  of  the  times.  On  the  whole,  no  one  could 
ask  for  more  favorable  conditions  under  which  to 
advocate  and  press  the  claims  of  religion ;  therefore 
this  state  of  things  involves  some  necessities  and 
privileges  worthy  of  consideration. 


CHAPTER   X. 

OBLIGATIONS. 

jHAT,  then,  are  the  obligations  which  now 
particularly  devolve  upon  the  ministry  in 
view  of  the  peculiarities  here  adverted  to  ? 

Unquestionably  one  apprehension  is,  and  that  not 
altogether  a  groundless  one,  that  the  ministry  will 
succumb  to  the  popular  dictation,  and  suffer  its  true 
spirit  to  be  restrained  injuriously  by  the  prevailing 
spirit.  This  is  at  least  conceivable,  for  there  are  few 
human  hearts  unsusceptible  to  the  impressions  of 
flattery,  to  the  seductions  of  favor,  or  to  the  more 
self-originated  yearnings  of  ambition.  The  desire  to 
go  with  wind  and  tide  is  no  exclusive  passion  of  the 
ministry ;  nevertheless,  it  must  be  acknowledged 
among  the  hurtful  influences  to  which  ministers  are 
exposed. 

Against  such  deflecting  and  neutralizing  forces  the 
utmost  resistance  should  be  interposed.  The  humble 
but  firm  and  determined  purpose  of  the  ministry 
should  be  not  to  follow  after  the  spirit  of  the  age,  not 
vainly  to  contend  against  currents  which  have  a 
necessary  and  irresistible  set,  but  in  the  higher  spirit 
of  truth,  and  of  Christ  who  came  to  bear  witness  ^o 


86  The  Mhtistry  we  need. 

the  truth,  to  turn  the  mental  activity  and  thoughtful- 
ness  of  the  times  towards  the  solid  principles 
established  of  God  for  human  welfare  and  the 
advancement  of  the  race.  "  The  most  powerful  and 
living  preachers  and  writers  have  ever  been  those 
who,  full  of  the  spirit  of  their  own  age,  have  felt 
a  calling  and  a  yearning  to  bring  that  spirit  into 
subjection,  and  to  set  it  at  one  with  the  spirit  of 
Christ." 

This  felicitous  result  is  gained,  not  so  much  by 
conflict,  as  by  control.  There  is  no  occasion  for 
timid  apprehension.  The  foundations  are  not  over- 
thrown, neither  will  they  be  undermined.  Courage 
is  needed,  but  not  of  the  boastful  sort.  Loud 
declamations,  hasty  assertions,  intemperate  denials, 
arrogance,  and  empty  conceits  are  a  vain  reliance. 
To  asperse  the  characters  and  motives  of  those  who 
seem  to  be  disparaging  revelation,  and  endeavoring 
to  substitute  some  form  of  philosophy,  some  absolute 
science,  some  dreary  scheme  of  moral  freedom  in  its 
place  ;  to  charge  with  insincerity  or  with  malice  such 
as  claim  to  be  searching  into  the  reason  and  founda- 
tion of  things,  can  never  be  wise  or  helpful.  While 
it  is  unpardonable  to  be  ignorant  of  what  is  doing, 
and  of  the  direction  in  which  the  tide  is  setting,  the 
ministry  and  the  church  ought,  of  right,  to  stand 
composedly  upon  the  firm  ground  which  revelation 
furnishes,  to  stand  there  with  watchfulness  and  con- 
fidence, observing  with  discriminating  and  impartial 
eye  the  tendencies  and  necessities  of  societ)-,   and 


Obligations.  87 

studying  with  a  prayerful  spirit  to  know  how  to  apply 
God's  truth,  so  that  it  shall  be  the  guide  and  salva- 
tion of  the  multitude.  To  hold  themselves  aloof  in 
solemn  awe,  or  in  the  ill-concealed  assumption  of  a 
superior  goodness ;  to  utter  rebukes  and  denuncia- 
tions with  oracular  complacency,  is  poor  philanthropy, 
and  worse  piety. 

No  minister  should  temporize  or  utter  the  truth  as 
if  ashamed  of  it,  because  it  is  scoffed  at  or  questioned. 
It  is  God's  power,  and  just  as  much  man's  necessity. 
Controversy  is  not  the  requisite.  If  conflict  comes, 
it  should  be  the  unavoidable  conflict  to  which  God's 
truth  is  always  exposed,  from  the  pride  of  opinion,  or 
the  superficial  misconstructions  of  those  who  do  not 
discern  its  glory.  That  glory  is  largely  in  its  spirit 
and  its  fruits. 

It  has  been  recently  said,  by  an  admirer  of  Voltaire, 
that  he  never  contended  against  the  religion  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Whether  this  be  so  or  not, 
it  cannot  be  questioned,  that  very  much  of  the 
embittered  virulence  of  the  attacks  upon  Christianity 
has  been  generated  by  the  arrogance  of  ecclesiastics, 
and  the  usurped  authority  of  those  who  have  chosen 
to  command  rather  than  to  teach,  and  have  forgotten 
to  draw  by  the  inspirations  of  deeds  of  loving  kind- 
ness and  tender  mercy. 

The  qualifications  of  the  ministry,  presented  in  the 
foregoing  pages,  are  eminently  appropriate  in  this 
particular  exigency.  To  move  men  aright  who  are 
already  excited,  they  must  be  moved  considerately. 


88  The  Ministry  we  need. 

What  power  is  there  in  the  service  of  the  truth  more 
effective  than  the  humility  which  realizes  how  lofty 
and  holy  truth  is,  and  how  majestic  and  august  the 
God  of  truth  is?  What  might  like  the  might  of 
meekness,  which,  with" deep  self-distrust,  is  conscious, 
of  its  common  inheritance  of  frailty,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  rests  with  profound  confidence  on  the  help 
which  God  offers?  Neither  humility  nor  meekness 
are  inconsistent  with  knowledge,  with  earnestness, 
with  activity,  and  persistent  effort.  They  are  rather 
the  very  ground-work  and  essence  of  all  that  is  best, 
and  most  effective  in  knowledge  and  effort,  since 
they,  more  than  anything  else,  eradicate  that  hurtful 
self-reliance  which  springs  from  pride,  and  which 
always  disparages  the  inherent  might  of  truth. 

The  servant  of  the  Lord  must  not  strive ;  the 
Master  did  not ;  but  into  the  minds  blinded  by 
bigoted  instructions,  and  sore  from  the  burden  of 
grievous  exactions.  He  quietly,  and  with  a  majestic 
calmness  of  spirit,  unceasingly  instilled  the  precepts 
of  a  heavenly  wisdom,  and  the  cheering  light  of  a 
wonderful  grace.  The  common  people  gladly  received 
the  counsels  and  promises,  which,  though  they  fell  to 
them  as  gently  as  the  dew  from  heaven,  were  in  fact 
the  repositories  of  a  power,  which,  in  its  normal 
development,  was  to  raise  them  from  under  their 
oppressions,  and  in  due  time  to  encircle  the  earth 
with  peace  and  joy.  And  why  should  not  the  servants 
of  Christ,  in  the  humble  confidence  that  is  ever  the 
might  of  his  own  word,  go  on,  casting  the  heavenly 


Obligations.  89 

wisdom  into  the  currents  of  thought,  there  to  e-xert 
its  purifying  and  elevating  influence  ?  Wliy  should 
not  faith  in  the  truth,  as  Christ's  instrument,  inspire 
every  minister  with  that  calm  patience,  which  is  an 
unyielding  firmness,  derived  from  a  source  which  the 
world  knows  not  of?  If  Christ  is  what  He  declares 
Himself  to  be  to  his  followers ;  if  his  word  is  that 
eternal  and  incorruptible  truth  against  which  not 
even  the  powers  of  darkness  shall  prevail ;  if  it  has 
in  it  the  charm  before  which  error  shall  vanish,  and 
the  clear  light  which  will  finally  irradiate  all  intellects 
and  warm  all  hearts,  why  should  not  believers,  with- 
out fearing,  or  apologizing,  or  time-serving,  use  this 
instrument  of  their  final  victory  ?  Why  should  they 
not,  with  the  confidence  of  hope,  utter  their  message  ; 
with  all  persistency,  vigor,  and  clearness,  declare 
God's  Word  even  where  unbelief,  or  skepticism,  or 
worldly  dogmatism,  or  hardened  indifference  seem  to 
bid  it  defiance,  or,  in  advance  of  a  hearing,  pro- 
nounce it  foolishness  ? 

Truth  is  not  less  likely  to  prevail  because  of  the 
excited  condition  of  the  public  mind  on  all  questions 
relating  to  man  and  his  destiny.  Paul  did  not  refrain 
from  disclosing  the  strange  doctrine  of  the  living  and 
true  God  on  Mars  Hill,  because  of  the  intense  specu- 
lative tendency  of  those  Greek  sages,  who  were  on 
the  tiptoe  for  novelties,  and  ever  alive  with  question- 
ings and  quibbles.  He  was  not  daunted,  but  rather 
inspired,  by  the  presence  of  a  philosophy  so  inquis- 
itive and  subtle  \  and  braving,  in  the  elevated  assur- 


90  The  Ministry  we  need. 

ance  of  a  truer  and  nobler  belief,  the  searching  look:i 
and  the  cynical  contempt  of  the  proud  assembly,  told 
them  of  the  God  who  made  heaven  and  earth,  whom 
they  ignorantly  worshipped.  May  not  the  Creator 
and  the  Redeemer  now  be  introduced  to  the  thought 
of  unbelievers ;  and  while  the  search  is  going  on  for 
a  maker  of  the  world,  or  a  method  by  which  the  fact 
of  the  world  may  be  accounted  for  without  a  maker, 
may  not  the  learned  and  the  unlearned  be  taught 
concerning  Him  whom  they  are  seeking  in  darkness  ? 

Those  who  began  the  regeneration  of  society  at 
Jerusalem,  where  there  were  no  idols,  advanced  from 
thence  to  the  centres  of  intellect,  the  emporiums  of 
commerce,  the  seats  of  the  arts,  and  to  the  very 
strongholds  of  the  deceiving  systems,  which  were 
blinding  men  in  perdition.  Their  way  was  the  very 
obvious  and  simple  one,  of  putting  the  truth  of  God 
into  the  minds  of  men,  antagonistic  as  it  was  to  all 
their  cherished  opinions,  and  leaving  that  truth  to 
work  its  mighty  results  under  the  influence  of  reason 
and  of  conscience,  the  force  of  pressing  necessities, 
and  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

It  may  be  asked,  what  is  there  to  hinder  now  ? 
Why  should  not  those  who  hold  the  truth  of  God, 
and  who  rest  with  sustaining  confidence  upon  Christ, 
as  the  inspiring  energy  of  his  own  word,  by  all 
means  present  that  word  to  the  attention  of  men, 
however  violent  their  opposition,  however  crowded 
or  preoccupied  their  thoughts  may  be  ?  Is  not  that 
word  as  a  fire?     Is  it   not   penetrating?     Is  it  not 


Obligations,  91 

persuasive  ?  Is  it  not  such  an  illuminator  as  to  make 
differences  clear,  and  to  separate  the  precious  from  the 
vile?  Does  it  not  discern  the  thoughts  and  intents 
of  the  heart  ?  Has  it  not  reason  on  its  side  ?  Does 
it  not  touch  the  conscience  ?  Does  it  not  offer 
soothing  alleviations  to  the  weary  heart,  and  entice, 
by  the  spirit  of  peace  and  joy  which  it  breathes,  the 
perplexed  and  the  heavy  laden  to  come  and  rest  ? 

With  such  munitions  and  towers  of  strength  as 
Christ's  ministers  posse'ss,  they,  of  all  men,  have  no 
occasion  to  be  faint-hearted.  Why  tremble  before 
the  giants  ?  Are  they  not  fabulous  ?  And  if  real,  are 
they  not  vanquished  by  a  smooth  pebble  from  the 
brook  ? 

There  should  be  no  shrinking  from  Christ's  work 
for  any  of  the  hinderances  with  which  the  age  is 
thought  to  be  incumbered.  With  all  the  more  ardor 
should  the  champions  enter  the  lists.  The  field  is 
attractive,  by  everywhere  present  signs  of  life.  It  is 
of  all  days  the  very  day  in  which  to  put  on  the 
harness,  and,  with  cheerful  hope,  to  go  forth  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord.  His  work  must  not  be  done 
deceitfully.  A  trembling  heart,  a  timid  utterance,  a 
shame-faced  bearing,  are  unfit  for  the  occasion.  It 
needs  rather  the  settled  convictions,  the  heart- 
sustaining  faith,  the  all-inspiring  love  of  souls,  the 
uplifting  fellowship  with  Christ,  the  prophetic  as- 
surance of  the  ultimate  triumph,  all  of  which  enter 
into  that  calm  and  patient  working,  which  is  power. 

Neither  the  ministry  nor  the  church  can  be  true  to 


92  The  Ministry  we  need. 

Christ  if  they  avoid  the  issue.  If  they  meet  it  as  in 
the  eye  of  the  Master,  feeling  the  power  of  his  spirit, 
reaching  forward  to  the  glorious  disclosures  of  the 
hereafter,  they  cannot  but  rejoice  if  they  are  accounted 
worthy  to  take  part  in  the  great  conflict  Christen 
dom  is  now  only  a  name  ;  it  is  to  be  an  inheritance 
The  new  Jerusalem  is  to  come  down  from  God  out 
of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  hus- 
band ;  and  a  redeemed  race  is  to  glorify  the  Lord  of 
the  whole  earth  in  all  the  abodes  of  men.  Nature 
and  art,  science  and  skilly  the  best  products  of  the 
intellect,  the  purest  creations  of  imagination,  the 
wealth  of  industry  and  the  power  of  labor,  are  yet  to 
be  the  ministers  of  God,  and  to  be  amongst  men  the 
voices  of  his  love.  This  false  array  against  God, 
this  perversion  of  the  tokens  and  gifts  of  his  wisdom, 
and  of  the  signs  of  his  goodness,  will  come  to  an  end, 
and  that,  too,  by  the  subduing  and  elevating  spirit 
of  the  gospel,  proclaimed  in  the  name  of  God.  To 
doubt  and  hesitate  in  discharging  the  duties  of  the 
great  commission,  is  only  to  retard  the  coming  of  the 
promised  triumph. 


CHAPTER   XL 

THE    BROAD   VIEW. 

WIDER  field  than  civilized  society  claims 
attention.  Hitherto  the  gospel,  as  a  con- 
verting and  regenerating  power,  has  been 
restricted  to  very  narrow  territorial  limits.  By  re- 
tarded steps  it  has  been  working  its  way  upward  to 
a  more  commanding  position,  and  by  a  slow  proc- 
ess, like  the  hidden  leaven,  it  has  been  permeating 
and  purifying  larger  masses  of  mankind.  Within  the 
area  of  its  recognized  possession  and  its  partial  do- 
minion, nearly  all  its  spiritual  forces  are  expended. 
So  that,  by  a  sort  of  conventional  limitation,  the  min- 
istry means  the  company  of  pastors  and  teachers  who 
carry  on  the  work  of  the  Lord,  where  churches  are 
established,  or  at  most,  in  parts  adjacent.  Treatises 
defining  clerical  duties  and  qualifications,  in  the  main, 
describe  what  appertains  to  this  class  of  men. 

There  is  a  broader  view.  The  field  is  the  world. 
The  earth  is  to  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  God. 
The  good  tidings  of  great  joy  are  to  all  people.  All 
nations  are  to  be  evangelized.  A  portion  of  the  her- 
alds are  denominated  ministers  ;  another  portion  mis- 
sionaries.    The  distinction  is  convenient,  but  super- 


94  ^^^  Ministry  we  need, 

ficial.  In  quality,  in  temper,  in  aim,  in  heart,  they 
should  all  be  one. 

In  this  view,  instead  of  the  spirit  of  the  times,  the 
truer  consideration  is,  the  state  of  the  world.  If  all 
around  among  Christianized  peoples,  there  is  a  con- 
dition of  affairs  and  an  attitude  of  mind  inviting  at- 
tention, and  inspiring  the  most  hopeful  anticipations, 
what  shall  be  said  of  the  nations  upon  whose  vast 
borders  the  gospel  has  hardly  made  an  indentation, 
and  over  whose  teeming  millions  night,  relieved  by 
scarcely  the  twinkle  of  a  star,  reigns  unbroken  ?  The 
commission  covers  this  region  of  dense  darkness. 
Mercy  is  prepared  for  these  lost  tribes,  these  be- 
nighted wanderers.  Christendom  is  not  mankind, 
but  a  fragment.  The  human  family  is  divided,  but 
the  huge  majority  are  aliens  in  a  strange  land,  where 
they  hear  not  the  Father's  voice,  and  no  sweet  invita- 
tions of  love  call  them  to  his  open  arms. 

But  the  Son  has  come,  and  his  word  still  resounds 
through  all  the  camps  of  Israel.  "  Go  ye,  therefore, 
and  teach  (make  disciples  of)  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost."  To  confine  the  work  of  the 
ministry  to  the  narrow  section  now  evangelized,  is 
restricting  the  great  commission,  and  contracting  the 
breadth  of  the  blessing.  All  the  land  is  to  be  pos- 
sessed ;  and  the  command  to  go  forward  was  never 
emphasized  so  deeply  by  concurrent  circumstances 
as  now. 

Within  the  memory  of  those  living,  nearly  all  the 


The  Broad  View.  95 

pagan  world  was  closely  barred  against  the  gospel. 
How  greatly  changed  the  aspect  I  One  nation  after 
another  has  become  accessible.  The  most  inveterate 
heathenism  has  yielded.  The  fierceness  of  perpet- 
ual war,  and  the  thirst  for  human  blood,  have  given 
place  to  the  purity  and  brotherhood  inculcated  by 
Christianity.  Degrading  superstitions  have  been 
exploded,  and  the  vast  systems  of  false  religion, 
hoary  with  length  of  years,  and  supreme  by  immemo- 
rial usage,  are  everywhere  showing  signs  of  decay. 
The  heralds  may  now  publish  salvation  by  Christ  in 
any  nation. 

In  these  encouraging  changes  the  spirit  of  the 
age  has  been  cooperating  with  the  gospel ;  perhaps, 
more  correctly,  has  been  the  pioneer,  opening  paths 
by  which  Christianity  may  enter  those  empires  which 
were  hermetically  sealed  against  foreign  intrusion. 
It  is  impossible  to  keep  the  thoughts  away  from  the 
two  great  semi-civilized  nations,  whose  relations  to 
the  rest  of  the  world  have  been  so  remarkably  modi- 
fied. Every  reader  is  familiar  with  the  almost 
incredible  revolution  going  on  in  Japan,  and  with 
the  auspicious  omens  constantly  coming  into  view  in 
respect  to  China.  Breaking  ajvay  from  a  govern- 
ment strengthened  by  centuries  of  despotic  rule ; 
discarding  a  religion  in  which  generation  after  gener- 
ation have  lived  and  died  ;  allowing  an  intercourse 
so  long  forbidden  by  the  severest  restrictions  ;  invit- 
ing instruction  from  other  nations,  in  literature,  art, 
science,  and  even  religion ;  proposing,  of  their  own 


96  The  Ministry  we  need. 

motion,  a  reconstruction  of  society  upon  foreign 
models,  and  pushing  forward  on  all  these  lines  of 
progress  with  energy,  with  a  remarkable  degree  of 
wisdom  and  forecast,  and  with  a  commendable  will- 
ingness to  meet  all  needful  costs,  the  Japanese  pre- 
sent to  the  contemplation  of  the  world  a  picture, 
unlike  anything  which  the  past  has  recorded. 

But  these  things  throw  over  the  problem  a  charm, 
a  rare  fascination  -,  lights  and  shadow  flit  across  the 
scene,  and  transform  it  almost  into  fairy  land ;  and 
yet,  to  sober  thought,  the  future  is  uncertain.  Who 
will  pretend  to  divine  it  t  Who  will  assume  to  say 
how  the  materials  of  the  demolished  fabric  will 
assume  new  forms  ?  Who  dares  prophecy  what  the 
reconstruction  will  be,  after  the  dismemberment  has 
been  completed  ?  what  the  allegiance  will  be,  after 
the  total  enfranchisement  of  a  whole  heathen  nation  ? 

It  hardly  admits  a  doubt  that  there  must  ensue  a 
conflict  of  interests,  of  passions,  and  of  ideas.  Pos- 
sibly chaos  and  night  may  return,  and  the  dawning 
of  the  true  day  follow  another  epoch  of  darkness. 
Certain  it  is,  that  already  the  insatiable  greed  of  gain 
has  showed  its  covetous  propensities.  Already  has 
avarice  made  victims  of  those  whom  the  feelings  of 
humanity  should  have  protected  and  helped.  It  can 
hardly  but  be  conjectured  that  all  the  nations,  Hke 
birds  of  prey  scenting  a  carcass,  will  hover  around, 
and  each  one  clamor  and  contend  for  the  best  terms 
for  itself. 

Meantime,  what  is  the  Church  to  do  ?     What  are 


The  Broad  View.  97 

the  yearnings  of  the  Christian  heart  ?  What  are  the 
purposes  of  men  consecrated  as  soldiers  of  the  cross  ? 
What  does  the  spirit  of  Christ  in  all  his  people 
prompt  to  ?  May  it  not  be  asked,  with  some  potency 
of  solicitude,  does  not  this  state  of  things  call  for  a 
ministry  equipped  in  the  best  furnishing,  cherishing 
the  profoundest  and  most  self-denying  views  of  their 
calling ;  men  as  it  were  transfigured  into  the  image 
of  Christ,  and  rising  up  with  an  apostolic  devotion, 
and  saying,  Lord  send  us  ! 

All  other  considerations  aside,  the  true  hope  of 
Japan  and  of  China,  and  of  other  heathen  nations 
as  well,  must  be  in  the  principles  of  the  gospel.  A 
reconstruction  in  some  form  is  inevitable.  Shall 
materialism  be  supreme  t  Shall  the  controlling  force 
be  avarice  ?  Shall  the  powers  and  capacities,  which 
discipline  will  enlarge  and  strengthen,  be  devoted 
only  to  the  uses  of  this  world  ?  Shall  Japan  have  a 
civilization  without  God,  and  pass  from  the  terrible 
reign  of  superstition  to  the  colder  reign  of  atheism  ? 
If  not,  then  the  life-giving,  elevating,  hope-inspiring, 
transforming  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  must  be 
allowed  to  do  their  part  in  forming  the  future. 

Can  it  be  doubted  that  the  truth  of  God  ought  to 
be  a  factor  in  the  result  ?  Should  there  be  a  moment's 
hesitation  whether  it  is  the  duty  of  Christians  to  give 
to  these  awakened  minds  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  ? 
The  world  will  equip  a  host  of  missionaries  to  teach 
letters,  and  art,  and  sciences,  and  to  aid  in  introduc- 
ing all  the  humanizing  and  productive  operations  of 
modern  civilization. 


98  The  Ministry  we  need. 

There  is  another  and  a  weighty  consideration.  Japan 
and  China  must  not  be  excluded  from  the  problem 
of  the  age.  India  with  its  myriads,  hapless  Africa, 
and  the  islands  of  the  ocean  must  be  regarded.  The 
foremost  thinkers  are  tasking  themselves  with  deter- 
mining whether  the  universe  is  under  the  government 
of  God,  or  under  the  reign  of  impersonal  forces  and 
inherent  laws.  Admit  that  this  is  the  problem  ;  if  it 
is,  the  problem  comprehends  the  necessities  and  the 
condition  of  the  race.  It  is  not  whether  God  shall 
be  worshipped  in  Britain  or  in  New  England,  but 
shall  God  be  known  and  honored  by  all  the  souls  He 
has  created  in  his  own  image,  and  redeemed  by  the 
blood  of  his  Son?  If  Christianity  is  anything  more 
than  a  fable,  this  is  its  mission.  If  its  ministers  are 
anything  more  than  masters  of  empty  ceremonies, 
this  is  their  work.  If  the  reign  of  Christ  transcends 
in  benignity  all  other  conceptions  of  good,  then  the 
highest  service  to  which  the  human  intellect  and 
heart  can  be  devoted,  is  the  extension  and  establish- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  righteousness,  and  peace 
and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  A  ministry  for  this  age 
which  comprehends  its  vocation,  is  a  ministry  fitted 
for  this  broad  enterprise,  and  ready  for  the  Master's 
work  wherever  the  call  is  heard.  Mankind  is  the 
object  of  its  regard  and  its  hope. 


CHAPTER    XII. 


THE    PRIVILEGE. 


NOTHER  inquiry  forces  itself  upon  the 
mind.  Whence  are  to  come  the  men  who 
will  go  forward  in  the  benign  enterprise  of 
converting  the  world  to  Christ.''  Neither  our  im- 
agination, nor  our  thought,  is  able  t6  comprehend  the 
fullness  of  the  proposition.  Only  He  whose  infinite 
love  submitted  to  infinite  self-denials,  that  He  might 
renew  into  the  image  of  the  Father  the  lost  race,  and 
lift  it  to  the  enjoyment  of  unspeakable  and  unfading 
glories  through  eternity,  can  measure  it.  Wellnigh 
does  the  momentous  truth  paralyze  us,  as  it  flashes 
upon  the  mind,  that  the  vast  result  hinges  upon 
human  efforts.  Man  is  God's  angel  of  mercy  to  his 
fellow ;  man  is  the  minister  of  infinite  good  to  the 
wretched.  Humanity  regenerate,  and  transfused 
with  the  love  of  the  Son  of  Man,  is  the  agency 
whereby  humanity  is  to  be  lifted  up  to  share  the 
benediction  and  the  presence  of  God  the  Father. 

It  may  with  propriety  be  asked  who  is  sufficient 
for  these  things?  No  answer  could  be  given,  did 
not  the  divine  condescension  write  the  all-sufficing 
response,  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee.     The  under- 


100  The  Ministry  we  need. 

taking  would  be  as  preposterous,  as  it  has  often  been 
declared  to  be,  by  those  who  take  counsel  only  of 
flesh  and  sense.  But  when,  to  the  fact  that  man  in 
his  feebleness  is  ordained  to  this  work,  it  is  added, 
that  he  goes  forth  in  the  might  of  the  divine  Spirit 
to  accomplish  God's  chosen  purpose,  the  great  moun- 
tain becomes  a  plain.  The  eyes  of  the  lonely  and 
timid  servant  are  opened,  and  he  is  surrounded  with 
chariots  and  horses  of  fire.  The  presence  of  Christ 
with  his  ministers  dissipates  fear,  and  gives  strength 
for  every  emergency. 

To  assume  the  weighty  responsibility  of  the  minis- 
try is  not  arrogance,  if  it  be  done  under  the  leadings 
of  that  faith  and  love  which  are  the  inspiration  of 
Christ's  disciples.  If  the  heart  is  penetrated  and 
possessed  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  it  will  pass  with 
spontaneous  eagerntsss  into  his  work.  In  proportion 
to  the  vigor  of  love  and  gratitude  there  will  be  a 
yearning  to  advance  the  glory  of  the  Redeemer.  Not 
always  will  this  inward  force  determine  those  who 
feel  it  to  be  ministers  or  missionaries.  The  range  of 
Christian  service  is  wide,  and  its  forms  are  manifold. 
There  is  enough  in  any  walk  of  life,  and  with  any 
type  of  fitness,  to  engage  the  energies  of  all  who  will 
enter  the  vineyard.  It  is  the  same  spirit  working 
within  both  to  will  and  to  do,  and  doing  the  will  of 
God  must  ever  be  not  merely  the  law,  but  the  life 
of  discipleship. 

If  every  service  to  a  right  heart  is  an  offering  of 
love  and  a  joy,  it  may  safely  be  said,  that  the  specific 


The  Privilege.  lOl 

work  of  the  ministry  is  a  high  privilege.  As  such  it 
should  be  contemplated.  Not  must  I,  but  may  I, 
enter  this  service.  If  there  is  fitness  in  respect  to 
physical  and  mental  qualities;  the  adaptations  of 
make  and  temperament;  the  requisite  culture  and 
intellectual  discipline  ;  if  there  are  spiritual  longings, 
promptings  of  heart,  yearnings  of  soul,  for  useful- 
ness ;  if  there  is  a  hungering  and  thirsting  to  do  the 
will  of  God,  and  to  advance  the  interests  of  his  king- 
dom, which  is  the  normal  condition  of  living  disci- 
pleship,  the  question  of  the  ministry  is  reduced  very 
much  to  one  of  circumstances  and  possibilities. 

The  desire  and  aim  being  single  and  sincere,  it 
must  be  decided  whether  the  work  of  the  ministry 
can,  under  existing  circumstances,  be  wisely  and 
hopefully  undertaken;  whether  it  presents  a  more 
promising  prospect  of  usefulness  than  other  methods  ; 
whether  it  is  more  congenial,  and  takes  hold  more 
powerfully  upon  the  affections  ;  whether  it  commands, 
with  a  somewhat  irresistible  persuasion,  the  assent 
of  the  heart,  and  moves  with  an  inspiration  by  it  to 
achieve  a  work  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  best 
welfare  of  men.  In  fine,  do  all  these  qualities  and 
antecedents  concur  with  a  solemn  conviction,  and 
a  joyful  sense,  that  in  his  Providence,  and  by  the 
grace  of  his  Spirit,  God  is  saying.  This  is  the  way ; 
walk  ye  in  it. 

He  that  desireth  the  office  of  a  bishop  desireth  a 
good  work.  Whoever  stands  ready  to  go  and  preach 
the  gospel  wherever  God  may  send  him,  is  enlisted  in 
a  noble  undertaking. 


102  The  Ministry  lue  need. 

From  suggestions  which  have  been  already  made, 
and  from  a  multitude  of  others  which  will  readily 
occur,  the  demand  for  ministers  at  the  present  day  is 
strong  and  urgent.  Human  enterprises  are  pressed 
with  unaccustomed  energy.  The  race  for  wealth  and 
honors  is  run  with  accelerated  velocity.  Fortunes 
are  accumulated  with  magical  skill.  Gratifications 
wait  upon  every  passion,  and  every  fancy  is  fed  to 
satiety.  Devotion  to  learning  progresses  in  harmony 
with  the  increase  of  lower  accumulations.  Academies 
and  colleges  are  crowded  with  young  men  eager  to 
equip  themselves  for  the  strife.  The  more  promising 
business  avenues  are  thronged  with  excited  com- 
petitors. The  lucrative  and  honorable  professions 
invite  the  studious  and  the  intellectual  to  rarer  con- 
flicts, where  discipline  and  culture  win  envied  laurels. 
The  duty  to  carry  forward  the  civilizing  processes 
of  the  age,  to  develop  the  world's  resources,  and 
multiply  its  means  and  capacities,  should  not  be 
undervalued.  The  command  to  replenish  the  earth 
and  subdue  it,  was  given  of  old,  and  has  not  been 
repealed. 

But  is  there  not  a  progress  higher  in  its  nature, 
and  a  more  noble  elevation  to  be  attained,  than  such 
uses  of  faculty  and  power  indicate  ?  When  tlie  sub- 
ject comes  home  to  the  Christian  heart,  and  is 
weighed  with  seriousness  under  the  light  which  comes 
to  us  in  the  revelations  of  God,  is  there  not  a  more 
commanding  claim  presented  to  us,  in  the  necessities 
and  prospective  benefits  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  1 


The  Privilege.  103 

It  would  be  an  ungenerous,  as  well  as  an  unjust 
judgment,  to  conclude,  that  the  highest  examples  of 
piety,  and  the  spiritual  zeal  which  is  inventive  and 
fruitful  in  the  service  of  religion,  are  found  only  in 
the  ranks  of  the  ministry.  It  can  hardly  be  so  ;  nor 
should  it  be.  The  vitality  and  efficiency  of  the 
Church  is  exhibited  in  the  earnestness  and  energy  of 
a  multitude  of  Christians  single-eyed,  self-forgetful, 
consecrated,  who  are  giving  the  clearest  illustrations 
of  godliness  by  living  for  Christ,  while  they  dis- 
charge with  manly  fidelity  every  social  and  civil  duty. 
Such  men  constitute  the  strength  of  the  Church. 
They  are  the  salt  of  the  earth.  They  diffuse  purity 
into  the  very  midst  of  corruption,  and  maintain 
integrity  in  the  face  of  the  duplicity  and  sharp  practice 
of  the  market.  They  demonstrate  unselfishness  by 
their  high  and  generous  aims  ;  show  what  love  to 
man  is  by  the  exercise  of  it ;  and  prove  what  religion 
can  do  in  producing  true  uprightness,  trustworthiness, 
godliness,  and  superiority  to  the  questionable  prin- 
ciples of  the  world  without  going  out  of  the  world. 
Conspicuous  are  the  instances  in  which  the  finest 
demonstration  of  the  Spirit,  and  aim  of  the  gospel, 
and  devotion  to  the  true  welfare  of  society  are  found, 
in  men  and  women,  who  abide  in  the  calling  in  which 
they  are  called,  or  who  elect  their  vocation  under 
the  force  of  the  social  circumstances  in  which  they 
are  placed. 

When  it  is    said  that  the  disciples  of  Christ  are 
commissioned  to  spread  the  gospel  over  the  globe,  all 


I04  TJie  Ministry  we  need. 

disciples  are  included ;  and  all,  within  their  sphere, 
and  according  to  their  capacity,  are  responsible. 
Much  of  the  burden  must  rest  upon  those  who  have 
also  to  bear  the  burden  of  secular  avocations.  The 
world  and  Christ  are  brought  face  to  face  in  this  age. 
The  conflict  is  more  open  —  friends  and  foes  are 
more  sharply  defined.  The  division  goes  down 
through  all  ranks  in  society.  The  speculations  of 
the  study  and  the  laboratory  reappear  in  the  work- 
shop ;  and  boldness  of  aggression,  laxity  of  opinion, 
and  license  of  practice,  must  be  openly  met  by  the 
well-established  integrity  and  clear  faith  of  those, 
whose  religion  shapes,  not  their  carefully  settled 
opinions  only,  but  their  daily  conduct.  Hence  it  is, 
that  in  Christian  lands  a  wide  field  is  opened  for 
earnest  service  on  the  part  of  all  believers.  Not 
only  men  of  business  of  every  description  can  be  at 
work  for  God,  but  all  the  professions  are  avenues 
and  stand-points  eminently  adapted  to  successful 
religious  effort.  While  our  colleges  are  providing 
highly  educated  minds  for  important  posts  of  honor 
and  influence,  it  is  of  incalculable  moment,  that 
those  who  occupy  these  positions  should  be  consistent 
and  effective  Christian  men.  In  securing  the  rapid 
advances  of  truth,  all  the  working  force,  available 
from  these  sources,  should  be  drawn  into  the  service. 
Every  disciple  should  be  an  enlisted  soldier.  There 
is  something  to  be  done  over  against  every  man's 
house,  which  will  tell  upon  the  final  result. 

Giving,  then,  all  the  weight  to  these  considerations 


The  Privilege.  105 

which  they  deserve,  it  still  is  true  that  the  movement 
for  the  world's  redemption  must  have  its  appointed 
leaders.  The  church  cannot  dispense  with  its  min- 
isters ;  missionaries  must  be  sent  to  the  heathen. 
"  How,  then,  shall  they  call  on  Him  in  whom  they  have 
not  believed  ?  and  how  shall  they  believe  in  Him  of 
whom  they  have  not  heard  ?  and  how  shall  they  hear 
without  a  preacher  ?  and  how  shall  they  preach  ex- 
cept they  be  sent  ? "  And  then,  as  if  the  Apostle's 
mind  caught  a  new  glow  of  inspiration  as  he  thought 
of  the  blessedness  of  the  mission,  he  adds,  "  How 
beautiful  are  the  feet  of  them  that  preach  the  gospel 
of  peace,  and  bring  glad  tidings  of  good  things ! " 
This  is  the  motto  emblazoned  on  every  banner  which 
is  carried  forth -by  the  servants  of  the  Lord.  The 
service  of  Christ  calls  for  standard-bearers.  And 
why  should  not  the  call  be  answered  with  alacrity? 
why  not  with  joy  and  hope  t  why  not  with  gratitude  ? 
why  should  not  the  opportunity  be  seized  as  a  choice 
favor  ? 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE    HIGHER    CHOICE. 

[HERE  are  many  open  ways  to  usefulness 
and  honor,  and  in  them  there  are  noble  op- 
portunities of  making  our  life-work  illus- 
trious and  beneficent.  To  institute  a  just  comparison 
between  these  and  the  ministry,  so  as  to  exhibit 
clearly  to  the  inquiring  mind  the  grounds  on  which 
the  latter  claims  the  highest  regard,  is  by  no  means 
easy.  The  standards  of  estimation  are  different. 
While  sound  motives  incline  to  one  or  the  other,  and 
the  results  justify  the  decision,  it  is  possible  there 
may  still  be  underlying  values,  inappreciable  in  a 
worldly  view,  which,  in  a  truly  Christian  judgment, 
will  give  to  the  ministry  the  controlling  choice.  For 
in  this  service  there  is  a  more  far-reaching,  more 
enduring,  and  less  selfish  aim  than  any  other.  The 
scope  of  any  secular  calling  is  narrow  when  compared 
with  it.  The  aims  of  statesmen  are  shut  up  to  the 
defense  and  establishment  of  the  rights,  the  interests, 
and  the  glory  of  their  nation.  No  one  has  ever  arisen 
whose  thought  embraced  mankind.  But  one  Wash- 
ington has  illuminated  the  rolls  of  history,  and  left  a 
name  signally  unselfish,  an   almost  spotless  renown 


TJie  Higher  Choice.  10/ 

amongst  men  of  all  nations,  and  to  be  perpetuated  to 
all  time.  But  even  he  was  limited  in  the  range  of 
his  effort  to  his  native  land ;  to  the  beneficence  of 
her  institutions,  and  the  establishment  of  her  freedom. 
Authors  and  philosophers  there  have  been,  whose 
penetrating  and  acute  minds  have  shot  out  far 
beyond  the  vision  of  their  own  age,  and  have  been 
willing  to  wait  for  posterity  to  test  their  discoveries, 
and  admire  their  genius.  But  these  have  been  few, 
and  in  the  widest  sweep  of  their  discursive  thought, 
and  in  their  highest  flights,  they  were  bounded  by 
the  narrow  horizon  of  time,  and  sought,  at  best,  only 
that  transient  good  which  alleviates  the  ills,  or  enlarges 
the  possibilities  of  a  temporal  existence.  And,  be- 
sides, in  almost  all  cases  the  amelioration  embraces 
only  that  which  is  external  and  visible,  the  formal 
and  the  relative  in  human  life.  Whereas,  the  distinc- 
tive purpose  of  Christ's  servants  is  to  advance  the 
renovation  of  the  spirit  in  man ;  to  adjust  his  relations 
to  God  and  eternity ;  to  subject  his  whole  being  to 
principles  as  unchangeable  as  the-Divine  Nature,  and 
to  elevate  him  to  a  happiness  as  lasting  as  his  exist- 
ence. 

This  process,  in  its  bearings  upon  the  temporal 
condition,  has  a  profound  worth.  It  is  really  the 
elevating  and  ennobling  process.  Whoever  does 
Christ's  work  is  toiling  directly  to  restore  to  man 
both  his  manhood  and  his  brotherhood.  What  other 
force  excepting  the  spirit  of  Christ  in  the  human 
heart,  can  combine  in  actual  unity  and  fellowship,  the 


io8  The  Ministry  we  7ieed, 

hostile  and  hating,  who,  in  all  times,  have  been  prey- 
ing upon  one  another?  To  what  region  can  we 
look  and  see  the  harmony  of  family  ties  and  mutual 
interests?  Is  not  selfishness  in  man  everywhere 
the  motive  for  exclusiveness  ?  Do  not  cliques  and 
clans,  feuds  and  factions,  petty  tyrannies  and  huge 
despotisms,  mean  frauds  and  unscrupulous  encroach- 
ments, alike  rend  and  divide  civilized  and  uncivilized 
communities  ?  Where  is  the  power  to  fuse  into  har- 
mony these  clashing  elements  ?  Certainly  the  power 
of  government  cannot  do  it.  For  governments  are 
themselves  based  upon  exclusiveness,  and  every 
nation  is  struggling  to  secure  for  itself  the  widest 
power  and  the  greatest  renown.  Certainly  knowledge 
cannot  do  it.  For  the  evil  is  not  a  fruit  of  ignorance, 
and  knowledge  only  informs  the  understanding. 
The  cultivated  nations  have  not  been  less  selfish  than 
the  rude.  A  painted  savage  who  starts  on  the  war- 
path, his  heart  burning  with  hate,  and  his  eye  flash- 
ing with  the  fires  of  revenge,  and  returns  to  his 
village  with  hands  reeking  in  blood,  and  his  spirit 
exulting  over  the  smouldering  ruins  of  the  wigwams 
of  his  enemies,  excites  indignation,  disgust,  or  sadness. 
The  Franco-Prussian  war  commands  admiration,  it 
may  be,  not  only  because  there  is  a  charm  in  valor, 
but  from  the  exhibition  it  affords  of  strength  of  com- 
bination, power  of  discipline,  promptitude  in  action, 
fertility  of  resources,  and  the  irresistible  might  of 
mind,  in  armies  of  intelligent,  thoroughly  drilled,  and 
enthusiastic   soldiers,  under   the   highest   attainable 


The  Higher  Choice,  1 09 

• 
military  leadership.     There  is  grandeur  in  the  spec 
tacle;   for  it  illustrates  the   possibilities   of  human 
energy,  when  developed  and  wisely  directed. 

Will  any  one  venture  to  affirm  that  the  blood-guilt, 
the  heart-stain,  of  the  savage  is  deeper  than  that  of 
the  imperial  duelists  ?  The  nations  engaged  in  the 
struggle  were  powers  of  the  first  rank.  They  repre- 
sent, on  the  one  side  or  the  other,  the  refinement  of 
learning  and  of  art,  the  strength  of  scientific  culture, 
well-arranged  systems  of  schools^  colleges,  and  uni- 
versities, and  the  humanizing  influence  of  knowledge 
upon  the  habits  of  society.  If  one  of  these  nations 
is  distinguished  for  the  keenest  and  most  profound 
thought  on  all  speculative  topics,  on  all  theories  of 
morals  and  philosophy,  the  other  is  not  less  noted 
for  the  polish  of  its  manners,  the  elegancies  of  its 
social  life,  and  the  attractive  ornaments  and  luxuries 
of  its  renowned  metropolis.  How  much  have  all 
these  results  of  education  and  aesthetic  discipline 
done  to  subdue  selfishness,  to  tame  the  ferocity  of 
hate,  to  mitigate  the  sharpness  of  hostility  between 
these  neighboring  peoples.''  Are  the  human  sym- 
pathies, the  instincts  of  helpfulness,  the  ties  of 
brotherhood,  more  sacred  on  these  high  planes  of 
civilization  than  in  the  haunts  of  the  savage  ?  Is 
avarice  or  ambition  any  less  willing  to  gratify  itself 
by  shedding  blood  \  or  injured  pride  any  more  slow 
to  seek  revenge  at  the  cost  of  human  life  ?  No  doubt 
that  these  huge  conflicts  are  planned  with  more 
deliberation,  with  a  deeper  calculation,  and  executed 


no  The  Ministry  we  need, 

with  a  greater  self-possession  ;  and  so,  it  may  be, 
with  more  of  what  is  called  dignity.  When  the  im- 
pulse and  purpose  are  analyzed,  nothing  will  be  found 
to  justify  the  verdict  of  conscience  in  their  favor. 

Is  there  anything  besides  accepting  and  obeying 
the  precepts  and  spirit  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that 
will  really  bring  men  nearer  to  each  other  in  confi- 
dence and  good-will  ?  Is  there  even  a  faint  prospect 
of  human  brotherhood  and  helpfulness  in  any  merely 
worldly  scheme  of  beneficence  ?  If  not,  does  it  not 
follow  that,  essential  as  other  forms  of  exertion  are, 
the  endeavor  to  instill  into  the  heart  the  sentiments 
of  the  gospel,  has  a  quality  and  a  promise  transcend- 
ing every  other  ? 

It  is  true,  that  often  in  this  service  the  theatre  of 
influence  is  a  narrow  one,  and  the  results  seem  very 
small.  *But  it  is  to  be  remembered,  that  the  entire 
work  of  God  is  made  up  of  small  services,  in  various 
times,  in  widely  separated  regions  ;  but  that  all  con- 
spire to  fulfill  that  design,  which  covers  in  its  span 
the  life  of  the  race,  and  ends  only  in  the  perfection 
of  eternity. 

In  this  view  some  small  achievement,  reckoned 
with  its  adjuncts,  and  weighed  in  its  connections, 
may  assume  grand  proportions.  The  common  esti- 
mate of  greatness  is  fallacious,  for  it  is  scanned 
through  a  deceiving  atmosphere.  Eternity  will  rec- 
tify many  mistakes.  The  world  may  not  think  it 
much  to  bury  one's  life  out  of  sight  among  the  de- 
graded   inhabitants  of  a   far  distant   island  of  the 


The  Higher  Choice.  ill 

ocean  ;  to  give  them  a  written  language ;  put  the  Bible 
into  their  hands  ;  lay  the  foundations  of  the  church  ; 
teach  them  the  arts  of  peace  and  the  law  of  love,  and 
so  raise  the  ignorant  savage  to  the  dignity  of  a  man, 
and  the  enjoyment  of  the  favor  of  God.  Viewing 
such  an  achievement  from  beyond  the  confines  of  our 
mortal  vision,  may  it  not,  then,  assume  grander 
proportions,  and  a  truer  glory  ?  May  not  the  Lord 
Himself  say,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one 
of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it 
unto  me"? 

Generations  to  come  will  not  easily  allow  the 
memories  of  such  heroes  to  fade.  The  seed  which 
they  have  sowed  in  tears,  and  with  many  hard  priva- 
tions, will  shake,  by  and  by,  like  Lebanon,  and  they 
shall  be  amongst  men  as  the  palm  among  trees, 
crowned  with  refreshing  verdure.  How  much  more 
will  they  be  honored  of  God  ? 

Every  true-hearted  minister  of  Christ,  whatever  be 
his  position,  whether  in  the  midst  of  brethren  who 
cooperate  with  him,  or  in  barbarous  climes  and 
among  hostile  peoples,  is  toiling  for  results  of  this 
high  and  enduring  character.  He  is  a  subject  in  the 
one  everlasting  kingdom.  He  is  a  builder  upon  the 
one  imperishable  foundation.  His  work,  if  never 
vindicated  in  this  life,  will  be  approved  in  the  life  to 
come.  Not  a  nerve  is  strained ;  not  a  pulse  beats  ; 
not  an  impulse  is  felt ;  not  a  sacrifice  is  made  ;  not  a 
pain  is  endured,  but  it  is  taken  up  into  that  mighty 
current  of  love  which  is  destined  to  bless  the  whole 


112 


The  Ministry  we  need. 


earth  with  peace,  and  make  heaven  vocal  with  halle- 
lujahs. Not  one  voice  raised  amid  the  din  of  the 
world  for  Immanuel  will  be  lost.  Not  one  laborer, 
however  unhonored  or  unknown  he  may  have  been 
on  earth,  shall  fail  of  the  final  exaltation. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


CONCLUSION. 


HE  future  of  the  race,  and  the  prospects  of 
the  nations  most  highly  civilized,  excite  in 
all  active  minds  an  intense  interest.  Is  the 
race  to  make  advances.''  Are  polished  and  cultivated 
peoples  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  a  more  thorough  intel- 
lectual and  social  development?  Are  the  comforts 
and  privileges  of  life  to  be  expanded  and  held  by 
surer  safeguards  ?  Are  the  boundaries  of  organized 
society,  and  the  dominion  of  free  and  just  govern- 
ments, to  be  extended  over  the  portions  of  the  world 
still  under  the  rule  of  despotism,  or  sunk  in  barbaric 
chaos  ?  Are  the  rights  of  man  to  be  held  in  greater 
respect,  and  the  obligations  of  men  to  one  another  to 
be  more  faithfully  performed  ?  Are  the  fundamental 
principles  of  morality  to  become  the  practical  rule 
in  society,  so  that  integrity,  uprightness,  truth,  and 
honor  shall  be  the  prevailing  ornaments  of  all  con- 
ditions and  classes?  Are  the  higher  virtues  of 
fraternity  and  fellowship,  good-will  and  helpfulness, 
to  add  their  grace  and  glory  to  humanity?  Is  the 
true  relation  between  God  and  man  ever  to  be 
realized,  so  that  men  shall  delight  in  the  reverence 

8 


114  The  Ministry  we  fteed. 

and  worship  of  their  Father  in  heaven,  and  be  satis- 
fied with  the  enjoyment  of  his  present  and  promised 
favor  ?  Is  the  law  of  God  ever  to  become  supreme, 
and  the  reign  of  peace  to  be  estabHshed  on  earth  ? 

These   questions   cover   a   wide   range,   but   they 
embrace  nothing  which  does  not  properly  belong  to 
the  possible  elevation  of  the  race.    They  are  parts  of 
no  Utopian  scheme,  but  commend  themselves  to  the^ 
calmest  and  most  conservative  judgment. 

If  such  results  are  possible,  are  they  probable  ? 
Do  they  wait,  as  the  growth  of  the  oak  does  upon 
the  slow  unconscious  steps  of  development,  accord- 
ing to  an  inherent  force  following  an  inflexible 
law  ?  or  are  they  the  hard-earned  productions  and 
accumulations  of  thought,  feeling,  will,  purpose, 
energy,  compelling  an  accomplishment  ?  Is  man  in 
any  sense  the  master  of  his  destiny,  the  architect  of 
the  character,  and  the  controller  of  the  position  of  the 
race  ?  If  he  is,  —  and  no  intelligent  person  cares  to 
deny  it,  —  then  it  becomes  a  question.  What  are  his 
instruments  of  action  ?  what  are  the  powers  at  his 
command  for  securing  effects  ? 

One  thing  can  hardly  admit  a  doubt,  that  among 
the  chief  instruments  to  be  used  are  those  which 
educate  and  strengthen  the  moral  principles,  and 
which  establish  the  moral  and  spiritual  law,  as  a 
practical  rule,  over  the  will  and  affections.  The 
reason  of  this  has  been  adverted  to  in  the  outset  of 
these  remarks.  The  true  dignity  of  man  is  unattain- 
able without  a  full  training  of  his  moral  and  spiritual 


Conclusion,  115 

nature.  The  highest  culture,  and  the  deepest  knowl- 
edge of  material  things  without  this,  must  leave  him 
debased,  and  devoid  of  purity  or  beauty.  The 
essential  element  in  the  real  elevation  of  the  race  is 
virtue  —  virtue  in  its  broadest  and  highest  sense. 
This  is  a  fruit  of  the  highest  truth  in  its  power  over 
the  heart.  This  highest  truth  is  God's  revealed 
truth.  This  truth,  to  become  a  working  force,  must 
be  believed.  Its  potency  is  developed  in  us,  and 
energizes  us,  just  in  proportion  to  our  convictions. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  ministry  becomes  the 
highest  office  of  the  human  intellect;  for  it  is  the 
appointed  work  of  the  ministry  to  wield  the  truth 
—  this  mighty  God-ordained  instrument  —  for  the 
renovation  of  man,  and  his  highest  and  noblest 
advancement. 

All  that  has  been  said  thus  far  is  based  upon  the 
fact  that  the  welfare  of  the  soul,  and  the  dominion 
of  righteousness  and  peace,  depend  upon  the  truth  of 
God  made  a  living  force  in  the  heart ;  and  that  this 
is  accomplished  mainly  by  preaching  the  word  with 
the  promised  blessing  of  the  Spirit. 

The  appeal  in  behalf  of  the  ministry,  is  simply  an 
appeal  to  educated,  self-denying,  benevolent  men  to 
bend  their  energies  into  this  line  of  effort.  This  is 
the  call  of  humanity  ;  this  is  the  call  of  God.  It 
is  according  to  God's  purpose.  He  has  ordained 
that  his  great  design  should  be  accomplished  by 
human  activity.  It  is  the  highest  conception  of  the 
use  of  our  powers.     It  brings  man  as  an  actor  into 


Ii6  The  Ministry  we  need. 

the  divine  scheme,  not  as  a  blind  force,  but  with  the 
consciousness  of  spiritual  freedom,  and  the  joy  of 
a  loving  heart.  The  object  of  this  work,  in  the 
language  of  the  Bible,  is  the  kingdom  of  God  —  a 
kingdom  in  which  God  reigns,  not  as  in  nature  over 
impassive  elements,  but  over  spiritual  beings,  whose 
obedience  is  free,  and  whose  loyalty  is  love.  The 
divine  method  has  ever  been  to  establish  his  sceptre 
over  the  hearts  of  his  subjects,  and  then  inspire  the 
willing  with  zeal  for  his  glory,  and  the  extension  of 
his  dominion. 

The  only  consecutive  history  which  presents  the 
progress  of  mankind,  in  accordance  with  a  fixed 
idea,  is  what  President  Edwards  denominates  "  The 
History  qf  Redemption."  It  is  not  the  history  of 
an  organization,  like  an  empire  having  a  territorial 
existence,  and  managed  by  its  special  officers,  vested 
with  definite  powers.  It  is  a  spiritual  kingdom  in 
which  God  is  ruling,  and  by  his  truth  carrying  for- 
ward his  eternal  purposes  ;  and  all  are  its  subjects 
in  any  nation  or  age,  who  are,  in  the  belief  of  the 
truth,  loyal  to  God. 

The  plan  of  God  has  included  human  services. 
The  old  lawgiver,  and  the  leaders  who  followed 
him ;  the  company  of  the  prophets  and  holy  men ; 
the  Apostles  and  the  ministers  of  the  word,  have 
constituted  the  unbroken  line  by  whom  God  has  been 
developing  and  extending  this  kingdom.  The  Spirit 
has  touched  the  heart,  now  of  one,  and  now  of 
another.     The  inward  fire  has  kindled  the  intellect. 


Conclusion.  1 1  j 

and  brought  the  power  of  thought  and  feeling  into 
the  work.  Outward  providences  have  conspired  with 
these  spiritual  ministries.  The  building  has  been 
going  up  stone  by  stone.  One  generation  has  fulfilled 
its  task,  and  passed  away ;  another  has  followed  ; 
and  all  have  been  raising  the  walls  of  the  eternal 
temple,  whose  foundation  is  the  rock  Christ  Jesus. 

The  process  is  to  be  continued.  Wickedness  is 
not  always  to  sit  in  the  high  places  of  power  and 
sway  its  malign  sceptre  over  the  earth.  Righteous- 
ness is  to  be  exalted,  and  man  is  to  be  redeemed. 

The  work  deserves  and  will  afford  scope  for  the 
highest  endowments  and  the  best  trained  energies. 
It  should  have  the  very  best  men,  men  competent  in 
intellect  and  competent  in  heart.  There  is  no  occa- 
sion to  shrink  from  the  service  of  the  ministry  from 
an  apprehension  that  it  is  ignoble.  Can  any  mortal 
look  down  upon  a  service  in  which  the  Son  of  God 
has  gone  before  him?  Is  there  any  splendor  of 
attainment,  or  any  power  of  mind,  too  exalted  to  be 
devoted  to  the  ends  for  which  Christ  gave  his  life? 
Is  it  not  enough,  for  any  aspiration,  to  follow  such  a 
leader  in  so  glorious  an  enterprise  ?  Humility  may 
tremble  at  the  venture,  but  it  can  be  nothing  short 
of  pride  that  spurns  the  oifer.  Furthermore,  there 
are  very  impressive  considerations  suggested  by  the 
outward  aspects  of  the  work  itself.  From  what  has 
been  attained,  and  what  is  reasonably  attainable, 
appeals  are  pressed  upon  us. 

The  urgency  proceeds  from  the  magnitude  of  the 


Ii8  The  Ministry  we  need. 

enterprise.  Its  proportions  are  imposing,  whether 
we  consider  the  vastness  of  its  extent  or  the  great- 
ness of  its  results.  The  Christianization  of  the  world, 
and  the  salvation  of  the  race,  are  the  narrowest 
limits  that  can  be  assigned  to  it.  The  contents  of 
this  proposition  can  only  be  approximately  estimated 
by  weighing  the  known  effects  of  the  gospel.  Can 
any  candid  observer  fail  to  see  that  the  degree  of 
order,  security,  and  welfare  exhibited  in  the  cities 
of  this  land,  is  an  undoubted  resultant  of  existing 
religious  institutions  .'*  The  majority,  it  may  be,  are 
not  reached  by  the  benign  influence,  A  huge  aggre- 
gate of  depraved  mind  persistently  resists  the  law  of 
God,  and  revels  in  impious  freedom.  What  holds  in 
check  this  terrible  power  ?  On  what  do  we  rely, 
that  it  shall  not  roll  its  desolating  wave  over  the 
entire  community  ?  One  of  two  things  —  moral  force, 
that  disarms  by  changing  the  intention ;  or  physical 
force,  which  is  the  law  of  the  strongest.  It  is  clearly 
a  choice  between  the  gospel  and  the  bayonet.  We 
can  test  our  estimate  of  the  worth  of  the  gospel  as 
the  palladium  of  our  safety  and  peace,  by  asking, 
What  would  be  the  result,  if  at  once,  in  the  commer- 
cial metropolis  of  the  nation,  every  vestige  of  a 
religious  organization  should  be  swept  away,  the 
Bible  banished,  and  the  Sabbath  abolished  ?  Would 
life  be  endurable  ? 

It  is  a  common  belief  that  the  permanence  of  our 
government  depends  upon  the  virtue  of  the  people. 
But  virtue  is  not  a  self-growth.     The  centuries  of 


Conclusion,  119 

experiment  have  failed  to  prove  that  it  is  a  plant 
indigenous  in  the  soil  of  the  human  heart.  Thus  far, 
notwithstanding  its  restricted  limits,  righteousness 
has  been  the  conservative  element.  We  owe  to  it 
our  strength.  But  there  is  now  within  our  borders 
a  race  just  emancipated  from  a  bondage  which  for 
generations  has  been  cheating  it  of  its  birthright,  and 
defrauding  it  of  its  opportunities.  These  millions, 
now  citizens,  are  left  intellectually  ignorant,  morally 
degraded  ;  the  victims  of  sensuality  and  superstition. 
Does  any  patriot  feel  willing  to  allow  them  to  remain 
without  the  formative  influence  of  knowledge,  and 
the  purifying  influence  of  religion  ?  Does  not  the 
dullest  mind  see  that  they  would  become  a  fatal 
gangrene  in  the  state  ? 

In  respect  to  these  views  there  can  be  no  difler- 
ence  of  opinion.  The  preeminence  of  this  nation, 
the  foundations  of  its  order,  its  rapid  advancement, 
its  high  civilization,  rest  upon  its  widely  diffused 
morality ;  and  its  morality  is  a  growth  of  its  religious 
institutions. 

If  now  the  gospel  is  a  refining  and  conserving 
power  here,  absolutely  essential  in  our  estimation,  is 
it  not  a  necessity  everywhere  ?  Can  the  vast  tracts 
over  which  the  government  of  Russia  spreads,  ever 
contain  a  population  which  can  vie  with  that  of  the 
British  Isles  in  refinement^  in  purity,  in  moral  worth, 
in  mental  development,  in  the  conditions  which 
adorn  society,  without  the  all-pervading  and  elevating 
influence  of  the  gospel  in  the  hearts  of  its  people } 


120  The  Ministry  we  need. 

Can  India  reach  its  possible  manhood  by  any  other 
means  ?  Can  Africa  otherwise  be  emancipated  from 
its  ages  of  inhumanity  and  darkness  ? 

If  the  gospel  is  the  essential  transforming  agency, 
equally  the  hope  of  our  own  country  and  the  hope  of 
all  nations,  we  can  at  least  arrive  at  a  comparative 
estimate  of  its  importance.  We  have  the  means  of 
knowing  something  of  the  grandeur  of  the  enterprise 
of  building  up  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

All  this  may  be  denominated  the  secular  view. 
There  are  more  profound  results.  The  gospel  is  the 
wisdom  of  God,  and  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation. 
Here  we  touch  a  theme  which  baffles  our  compre- 
hension. Feebly,  at  best,  do  we  realize  its  depth  and 
height.  All  the  momentous  interests  of  the  soul  in 
relation  to  eternity,  turn  upon  the  cross  of  Christ. 
He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved.  How  shall  they 
believe  if  they  do  not  hear  t 

For  the  past  few  years  the  attention  to  advanced 
education  has  been  rapidly  intensified.  Wealth,  with 
a  generosity  unsurpassed,  has  been  bestowed  upon 
institutions  of  learning;  funds  have  been  liberally 
provided  in  aid  of  such  as  need  assistance.  Year  by 
year  the  number  of  graduates  is  swelled.  Churches 
have  increased,  and  young  men  have  been  conse- 
crated to  God.  Population  spreads  over  the  vast 
areas  opened  to  industry  and  enterprise.  The  call 
for  teachers  and  preachers  is  heard  on  every  breeze. 

But  if  the  statements  of  those  whose  position  for 
observation,  and  whose  character  entitle  them  to  con- 


Conclusion.  121 

fidence,  are  to  be  relied  upon,  the  demand  for 
ministers  continually  outruns  the  supply.  The 
response  is  wholly  disproportionate  to  the  necessity. 
Churches  increase  faster  than  the  seminaries  educate 
pastors.  If,  therefore,  with  the  facilities  so  ample, 
the  ranks  of  the  home  ministry  are  not  filled,  what  is 
the  prospect  for  the  destitute  nations  who  look  to 
this  country  for  help?  Is  not  the  emergency  a 
pressing  one,  and  the  urgency  as  profound  as  the 
enterprise  is  imposing  ? 

Is  it  intrusive,  to  urge  the  inquiry,  upon  what 
principle  the  decision  is  made  ?  There  are  sub- 
stantial reasons  which  justify  the  warmest  hearted 
Christian  disciple  in  withholding  himself  from  the 
ministry :  reasons  which  will  stand  any  scrutiny,  and 
abide  any  trial. 

But  have  all  those,  who  seem  to  be  promising 
candidates  for  the  pastoral  office,  weighed  the  subject 
with  all  the  deliberation  which  its  profound  impor- 
tance demands  t  Have  they  considered  it,  standing  in 
sight  of  that  cross  which  has  filled  their  own  souls 
with  peace  and  joy  ?  Have  'they  weighed  the  ques- 
tion of  duty  when,  touched  with  Christ's  compassions, 
they  have  looked  out  upon  the  vast  multitudes  still 
sitting  in  the  region  and  shadow  of  death,  and 
perishing  for  lack  of  the  knowledge  of  a  Saviour? 
Have  they  taken  into  the  account  the  glories  of  that 
day,  when  all  the  self-denial  and  love  of  Christ  will 
be  rewarded  in  the  completed  salvation  of  the 
redeemed  ?     And  have  they  anticipated  the  exalted 


122  The  Ministry  we  need. 

joys  of  the  faithful  servants  whom  the  Lord  will 
admit  to  a  share  in  the  triumph  ?  Have  they  fixed 
their  idea  of  the  value  of  the  privilege  of  proclaiming 
a  Saviour,  after  looking  upon  the  multitudes  who  are 
venturing  their  souls  for  the  fragment  of  this  world 
which  they  may  gain,  and  the  nothing  of  this 
world  which  they  can  hold?  Have  they  measured 
the  risk  of  these  infatuated  myriads  by  that  searching 
utterance  of  Christ :  "  What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if 
he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ?  " 

At  such  moments,  and  in  such  positions,  the 
eternal  realities  assume  more  of  their  inherent  great- 
ness and  worth.  It  will  seem  a  noble  calling  to  be 
commissioned  to  plead  with  men  to  accept  a  Saviour. 
To  stand  for  Christ  against  the  world,  and  for  man 
against  all  his  spiritual  enemies,  will  be  looked  upon 
as  a  great  favor.  A  new  charm  will  invest  the 
privilege  of  leading  in  the  cause  of  truth  against 
deceiving  and  destroying  error,  and  of  righteousness 
against  soul-ruining  iniquity.  It  will  be  felt  a  satis- 
faction, exceeding  all  other  satisfactions,  to  bear  a 
part  with  Christ  in  lifting  a  fallen  race  out  of  its 
miseries,  and  spreading  sunshine  and  rejoicing  over 
the  realms  of  darkness  and  death. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  how  such  motives  will  be 
viewed,  when  looked  back  upon  in  the  light  of 
eternity.  When  the  scales  fall  from  our  eyes,  and 
the  obscuring  mists  of  time  are  dissolved,  the  clear 
vision  will  insure  a  true  verdict.  It  cannot  be  other- 
wise.    When  all  the  glory  of  divine  love  shines  forth, 


Conchision.  123 

and  the  redeemed  are  in  possession  of  the  inherit- 
ance, the  consecration  of  a  life  to  the  kingdom 
of  God  will  be  acknowledged  the  one  transcendent 
service.  That  work  only  will  survive.  The  rest, 
however  fair  to  earthly  eyes,  and  precious  to  earthly 
desire,  will  perish.  "Every  man's  work  shall  be 
made  manifest,  for  the  day  shall  declare  it,  because  it 
shall  be  revealed  by  fire;  and  the  fire  shall  try 
every  man's  work  of  what  sort  it  is." 

♦*  Oh  what,  if  we  are  Christ's, 
Is  earthly  shame  or  loss  ? 
Bright  shall  the  crown  of  glory  be, 
When  we  have  borne  the  cross. 

"  Keen  was  the  trial  once, 
Bitter  the  cup  of  woe, 
When  martyred  saints,  baptized  in  blood, 
Christ's  sufferings  shared  below. 

"  Bright  is  their  glory  now, 
Boundless  their  joy  above, 
Where,  on  the  bosom  of  their  God, 
They  rest  in  perfect  love." 


